The US Navy presents a new type of combat ship that breaks all dimensions.
The weapon systems on board set new standards.
Munich/Port Hueneme - The US Navy presented a new type of naval ship in a pathetic ceremony: the USS Santa Barbara.
It is a massive littoral battleship with a distinctive trimaran hull resembling a floating fortress.
USS Santa Barbara: United States commissions new littoral combat ship
Specifically: The USS Santa Barbara was officially put into service on Saturday (April 1, local time) at the Ventura County naval base in Port Hueneme, California.
The Independence-class combat ship is used in near-shore military operations.
It is the first Navy ship fully equipped with unmanned weapons and reconnaissance systems thanks to innovative technologies.
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Years of intensive development lie behind the Navy and the Austal shipyard where the ship was built and engineered.
The USS Santa Barbara was previously christened October 16, 2021 and launched November 13, 2021.
The Navy took over the ship on July 21, 2022, but it was only nine months later that she began her service with the US Navy.
USS Santa Barbara: Unmanned mini-submarines, drones and helicopters
The technical data: The coastal combat ship is 127.4 meters long, 31.6 meters wide and can travel at speeds of up to 40 knots (74 km/h).
As a rule, a crew of 40 steer the naval ship, which is smaller than a guided missile cruiser.
The name, however, is pathetic.
Because: The first USS Santa Barbara was put into service more than 100 years ago.
The current model is the third ship to bear the name of the Californian coastal city.
The technologies are breathtaking.
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Mini submarines and drones are used for sea reconnaissance.
With the "Northrop Grumman MQ-8 Fire Scout" there is even an autonomous unmanned helicopter on board ready for action.
USS Santa Barbara: Secret "tin foil" to provide protection from enemy radar
"MH-60R/S Seahawks" helicopters can also land on the deck with marines ("Marines").
Due to a kind of secret aluminum foil inside, the ship should hardly be visible to possible enemies on the radar.
The armament on deck consists of eleven rocket launchers and a beefy "Bofors 57 mm Naval Automatic Gun L/70" machine cannon with a caliber of 57 millimeters.
"I am pleased to be naming the next Independence variant littoral combat ship after the city of Santa Barbara," a Navy spokesman said.
A total of four Independence-class coastal combat ships are to protect the coasts of the USA in the future.
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Rubric list image: © usssantabarbara.org