The future USS Kansas City (LCS 22) has now successfully completed acceptance trials in the Gulf of Mexico, according to a Monday announcement by Austal USA.

LCS 22 is the 11th Independence-variant littoral combat ship (LCS) built by Austal in Mobile to reach this important milestone.

“I take great pride in how our LCS team has elevated this program to be an example of manufacturing excellence,” Austal USA president Craig Perciavalle said in a statement.

Acceptance trials involve the execution of intense comprehensive tests by the Austal-led industry team, which demonstrate to the U.S. Navy the successful operation of the ship’s major systems and equipment.

This the last significant milestone before delivery of the ship to the Navy. LCS 22 will be the third ship Austal delivers in 2019 alone.

“This is the 11th LCS sea trials completed successfully and more to follow,” Perciavalle concluded. “I am excited that this ship will be joining the fleet soon further strengthening our great Navy.”

The USS Montgomery (LCS 8) and USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10) were recently deployed to Singapore and seven other Independence-variant LCS are homeported in San Diego.

The LCS program is currently at full-rate production and continuing its momentum at Austal’s Mobile manufacturing operations, with five ships currently under construction in addition to the Kansas City now awaiting delivery.

The future USS Oakland (LCS 24) has launched and is itself preparing for acceptance trials. Final assembly is well underway on the future USS Mobile (LCS 26) and USS Savannah (LCS 28). Modules for the future USS Canberra (LCS 30) and the future USS Santa Barbara are under construction in the module manufacturing facility.

The Independence-variant LCS is a high-speed, shallow-draft focused-mission ship capable of operating independently or in a group. These ships are designed to defeat growing littoral threats and provide access and dominance along coastal waters. A fast, maneuverable and networked surface-combatant, LCS provides the required warfighting capabilities and operational flexibility to execute focused missions such as surface warfare, mine warfare and anti-submarine warfare.

Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn