The U.S. Navy will christen the future USS St. Louis built by Fincantieri Marinette Marine on Saturday at the company’s Marinette, Wis. facility, the Department of Defense said Thursday.
The Freedom-variant littoral combat ship can operate in open-ocean and near-shore environments and is designed to thwart threats such as mines, quiet diesel submarines and fast surface craft. The USS St. Louis is designated as LCS 19 and named after Missouri’s major port city located along the Mississippi River. In May 2017, a Lockheed Martin-led industry team laid the keel for the vessel at Marinette Marine’s location in Wisconsin.
Sen. Roy Blunt and Barbara Taylor, wife of Enterprise Holdings Chairman Andy Taylor will attend the christening.Â