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USS Omaha underway on 8 August 2021
History
United States
Name	Omaha
Namesake	Omaha
Awarded	29 December 2010
Builder	Austal USA
Laid down	18 February 2015
Launched	20 November 2015
Sponsored by	Susan Alice Buffett
Christened	19 December 2015
Acquired	15 September 2017
Commissioned	3 February 2018
Homeport	San Diego
Identification	MMSI number: 368926056 Callsign: NOMA Hull number: LCS-12
Motto	Fortiter In Re (Resolute In Deed)
Status	Active
Badge
General characteristics
Class and type	Independence-class littoral combat ship
Displacement	2,307 t (2,271 long tons) light 3,104 t (3,055 long tons) full 797 t (784 long tons) deadweight
Length	127.4 m (418 ft)
Beam	31.6 m (104 ft)
Draft	4.3 m (14 ft)
Propulsion	2 × gas turbines, 2 × diesel, 4 × waterjets, retractable Azimuth thruster, 4 × diesel generators
Speed	+40 knots (74 km/h; 46 mph), 47 knots (87 km/h; 54 mph) sprint
Range	4,300 nmi (8,000 km; 4,900 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)+
Capacity	210 t (210 long tons; 230 short tons)
Complement	40 core crew (8 officers, 32 enlisted) plus up to 35 mission crew
Sensors and processing systems	Sea Giraffe 3D Surface/Air RADAR Bridgemaster-E Navigational RADAR AN/KAX-2 EO/IR sensor for GFC
Electronic warfare & decoys	EDO ES-3601 ESM 4 × SRBOC rapid bloom chaff launchers
Armament	BAE Systems Mk 110 57 mm (2.2 in) gun 4 × .50 cal (12.7 mm) guns (2 aft, 2 forward) Evolved SeaRAM 11 cell missile launcher Mission modules
Aircraft carried	2 × MH-60R/S Seahawks

USS Omaha (LCS-12) is an Independence-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy. She is the fourth ship to be named for Omaha, the largest city in Nebraska. The vessel's keel was laid down on 18 February 2015 at the Austal USA shipyard in Mobile, Alabama and launched on 20 November. The ship was commissioned at San Diego, California on 3 February 2018 and was assigned to Littoral Combat Ship Squadron One.

Design

In 2002, the United States Navy initiated a program to develop the first of a fleet of littoral combat ships. The Navy initially ordered two trimaran hulled ships from General Dynamics, which became known as the Independence-class littoral combat ship after the first ship of the class, USS Independence (LCS-2). Even-numbered U.S. Navy littoral combat ships are built using the Independence-class trimaran design, while odd-numbered ships are based on a competing design, the conventional monohull Freedom-class littoral combat ship. The initial order of littoral combat ships involved a total of four ships, including two of the Independence-class design. On 29 December 2010, the Navy announced that it was awarding Austal USA a contract to build ten additional Independence-class littoral combat ships.

Construction and career

The vessel was ordered from Austal USA with a contract awarded on 29 December 2010. The ceremonial laying of the keel was on 18 February 2015, at their shipyard in Mobile, Alabama. Omaha was launched from Austal USA's shipyards in Mobile, Alabama on 20 November 2015. Omaha was christened on 19 December 2015. The ship's sponsor was Omaha philanthropist Susie Buffett. The littoral combat ship was the fourth ship to be named for Omaha, the largest city in Nebraska. Omaha was commissioned on 3 February 2018 in San Diego, California. She was assigned to Littoral Combat Ship Squadron One.

UFO incident

On 15 July 2019 alleged multiple UFOs were tracked on the ship's radar while training off the coast of San Diego. Subsequent investigation by the Pentagon's Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force (UAPTF) failed to determine the nature or origin of the phenomena, which remain unexplained.

References

1. ^ Liewer, Steve (22 December 2015). "Susie Buffett christens USS Omaha, the newest member of Navy's fleet". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
2. ^ "Omaha". Naval Vessel Register. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
3. ^ "Austal commemorates keel laying for USS Omaha (LCS 12)" (Press release). Austal USA. 18 February 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
4. ^ "US Navy Fact File: Littoral Combat Ship Class – LCS". US Navy. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
5. Special from Navy Office of Information (29 December 2010). "Littoral Combat Ship Contract Award Announced" (Press release). Navy News Service. NNS101229-09. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
6. Osborn, Kris (27 June 2014). "Navy Engineers LCS Changes". www.dodbuzz.com. Monster. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
7. Program Executive Office Littoral Combat Ships (20 November 2015). "Future USS Omaha (LCS 12) Launches" (Press release). Navy News Service. NNS151120-25. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
8. "Navy Names Five New Ships" (Press release). U.S. Department of Defense. 15 February 2012. 109-12. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
9. "Introducing... The USS Omaha". WOWT.com. WOWT NBC Omaha. 15 February 2012. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
10. "USS Omaha will be commissioned in San Diego today". 3 February 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
11. "LCS Squadron 1". public.navy.mil. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
12. Barnes, Dustin (28 May 2021). "UFO filmmaker releases 46-second video allegedly showing swarm of objects hovering near Navy ship". USA Today. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
13. Cohen, Zachary; Williams, Katie Bo (4 June 2021). "US intelligence officials have no evidence confirming Navy pilot UFO encounters were alien spacecraft". CNN. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
14. "U.S. government finds no evidence aerial sightings were alien spacecraft -NYT". Reuters. 4 June 2021. Retrieved 19 June 2021.

•  This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here.

External links

• Media related to USS Omaha (LCS-12) at Wikimedia Commons

• 2015 ships
• Independence-class littoral combat ships