The U.S. Navy has approved the Duluth as the commissioning location for the future USS Minneapolis/Saint Paul (LCS 21) Freedom-class littoral combat ship.

According to mass communication specialist 2nd Class (SW/AW) Evan Thompson, Deputy Undersecretary of the Navy Jodi Greene announced Duluth as the commissioning location for the future USS Minneapolis/Saint Paul (LCS 21) in a joint press conference with Duluth Mayor Emily Larson.

Greene is the ship’s sponsor and is currently in Duluth for Duluth Navy Week, an outreach effort in which Sailors and naval personnel from different commands across the country are in the city meeting with people from all sectors of the population to tell them about their Navy and why it is important.

Greene expressed excitement during at the announcement, underlining the importance of the Navy maintaining ties to cities in America’s heartland.

“We are eager to announce that Duluth has been chosen as the city in which we will hold the commissioning for the USS Minneapolis/Saint Paul,” said Greene. “The city of Duluth is an important port on Lake Superior and your Navy is looking forward to continuing a strong partnership with Mayor Larson and the people of Duluth, as well as the people in Minneapolis and St. Paul.”

Larson mirrored Greene’s enthusiasm, highlighting Duluth’s historic connection to the Navy.

“Duluth is a city full of people linked to the Navy,” said Larson. “We have both active servicemembers and veterans who call Duluth their home, and we proudly display the anchor from the decommissioned USS Duluth where everyone can see it. I am grateful to be able to continue honoring our Navy.”

Recently, the Navy held a christening and launching ceremony June 15 for the future USS Minneapolis/Saint Paul (LCS 21) in Marinette, Wisconsin, where it is being built.

The ship is being built by an industry team led by Lockheed Martin at Fincantieri Marinette Marine Corporation in Marinette. The future USS Minneapolis/Saint Paul will be approximately 388 feet in length and have a width of nearly 58 feet.

LCS is a modular, reconfigurable ship designed to meet validated fleet requirements for surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, and mine countermeasures missions in the littoral region. An interchangeable mission package is embarked on each LCS and provides the primary mission systems in one of these warfare areas. Using an open architecture design, modular weapons, sensor systems and a variety of manned and unmanned vehicles to gain, sustain and exploit littoral maritime supremacy, LCS provides U.S. joint forces access to critical theaters.