USS Kingsville

USS Kingsville (LCS-36) will be an Independence-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy. She will be the first ship to be named for Kingsville, Texas, which is home to Naval Air Station Kingsville.

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
Kingsville was constructed in Mobile, Alabama by Austal USA. The Navy accepted delivery of the vessel on 1 March 2024, with commissioning expected to follow in mid-2024. Homeport will be San Diego, California.