USS Augusta (LCS-34)

USS Augusta (LCS-34) is an Independence-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy. She is the second ship to be named for Augusta, Maine.

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 US 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
Augusta was built in Mobile, Alabama by Austal USA. Austal USA delivered the ship to the Navy, in Mobile on 12 May 2023. She joined the active fleet with a commissioning ceremony in Eastport, Maine on 30 September 2023. Augusta arrived at her homeport of San Diego on 30 October 2023.