USS Pierre (LCS-38)

USS Pierre is an of the United States Navy. She is the second ship to be named for Pierre, South Dakota, the first being, a from World War II. Pierre is the 19th and final Independence-class littoral combat ship.

Design and construction

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 after the first ship of the class,. 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. 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.
It was launched on August 5, 2024, and commissioned on November 16, 2025, in Panama City, Florida.