The Navy will commission its newest Freedom-variant
littoral combat ship (LCS), the future USS Cleveland (LCS 31), during a
10 a.m. EDT ceremony Saturday, May 16, 2026, in Cleveland, Ohio.
The Honorable Hung Cao, acting Secretary of the Navy, will deliver the
ceremony's principal address. Additional speakers are set to include the
Honorable Jon Husted, U.S. Senator from Ohio; the Honorable Shontel
Brown, U.S. Representative from Ohio; the Honorable Justin Bibb, Mayor
of Cleveland, Ohio; Adm. Karl Thomas, commander, U.S. Fleet Forces
Command; and Ms. Stephanie Hill, President Rotary and Mission Systems,
Lockheed Martin.
Robyn Modly, the wife of former acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas
Modly, is the ship's sponsor. In keeping with Navy tradition, she will
give the crew the order to "man our ship and bring her to life!" With
the hoisting of the colors and commissioning pennant, acting Secretary
Cao will formally place the ship in active service.
LCS 31 is the fourth ship to be named in honor of the city of Cleveland.
The first was a cruiser (C-19) commissioned in 1903 that served during
World War I. The second was the lead ship of her class of light
cruisers, USS Cleveland (CL-55), which earned 13 battle stars for its
service during World War II. The third was the Austin-class amphibious
transport dock, USS Cleveland (LPD 7), which served from 1967 to 2011,
providing critical support during the Vietnam War, Operation Desert
Storm, and various humanitarian missions.
The LCS class consists of two variants, Freedom and Independence,
designed and built by two industry teams. Lockheed Martin leads the
Freedom-variant team, the odd-numbered hulls, in Marinette, Wisconsin.
Following its commissioning, USS Cleveland will be homeported at Naval Station Mayport, Florida.
LCS are fast, agile, mission-focused warships designed to operate in
near-shore environments to counter 21st-century threats. It is a class
of small surface combatants equipped to defeat challenges in the world's
littorals. LCS can operate independently or in high-threat scenarios as
part of a networked battle force that includes larger, multi-mission
surface combatants such as cruisers and destroyers.
The commissioning of USS Cleveland underscores the Navy's commitment to
building America's Fleet of the Future. For 250 years, American naval
power has projected strength globally. That mission continues – and
intensifies. We operate forward 24/7, 365 days a year. This operational
tempo demands continuous capability delivery, and the Fleet of the
Future is our answer.
The commissioning ceremony will stream on the Defense Video Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) at http://www.dvidshub.net/webcast/37601. The live stream will begin at 9:50 a.m. EDT, and the ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. EDT on May 16.
Media may direct queries to the Navy Office of Information at (703) 697-5342.
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