USS Canberra (LCS 30)

Photo by Michael Jenning

USS CANBERRA is the 15th INDEPENDENCE - class Littoral Combat Ship and the second ship in the Navy named after the capital city of Australia and in honor of the Australian heavy cruiser HMAS CANBERRA, which sank after receiving heavy damage during the Battle of Savo Island.

General Characteristics:	Awarded: October 6, 2017
	Keel laid: March 10, 2020
	Launched: March 30, 2021
	Commissioned: July 22, 2023
	Builder: Austal USA, Mobile, Ala.
	Propulsion system: two LM2500 gas turbine engines, two diesel engines, four waterjets
	Length: 418 feet (127.5 meters)
	Beam: 104 feet (31.5 meters)
	Draft: 13 feet (4 meters)
	Displacement: approx. 3,104 tons full load
	Speed: 47 knots
	Armament: one Mk-110 57mm gun, one SeaRAM CIWS
	Aircraft: two MH-60 helicopters
	Homeport: San Diego, Calif.
	Crew: 8 officers, 32 enlisted

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Crew List:

This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USS CANBERRA. It is no official listing but contains the names of sailors who submitted their information.

Click here to view the list.

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USS CANBERRA History:

USS CANBERRA is an INDEPENDENCE-variant littoral combat ship built by Austal USA at Mobile, Alabama, ordered on October 6, 2017 and named to honor Australia's capital and the World War II service of HMAS CANBERRA. The U.S.-Australian leaders announced the name in early 2018, underscoring the alliance the ship was intended to serve. Her keel was laid at Mobile on March 10, 2020; she was launched on March 30, 2021 and christened on June 5, 2021, with Australia's foreign minister Marise Payne as sponsor, reflecting the binational heritage embodied in the name. Builder's sea trials followed in the Gulf of Mexico in November 2021; the Navy accepted delivery on December 21, 2021. After post-delivery preparations, the pre-commissioning unit (PCU) transited to the Pacific, arriving at her homeport of Naval Base San Diego on June 22, 2022. Through late 2022 she completed post-delivery trials and a day-long Final Contract Trial in December, closing out construction-phase testing before full fleet introduction.

In 2023, the Navy decided to hold CANBERRA's commissioning in Australia to mark more than a century of U.S.-Australian naval cooperation. The ship departed San Diego on June 13, 2023 for the transit west, calling at American Samoa and Fiji en route. She arrived in Sydney on July 18 and was ceremonially commissioned on July 22, 2023 at Royal Australian Navy Fleet Base East - the first time a U.S. Navy warship was commissioned in Australia. On July 23, the crew joined RAN personnel from HMAS CANBERRA (L 02) in a Freedom of Entry parade in the city of Canberra, emphasizing the namesake link. The ship then returned across the Pacific and reached San Diego on August 29, 2023, resuming routine preparations as part of Littoral Combat Ship Squadron ONE.

In early 2024, CANBERRA entered an intensive workup focused on mine countermeasures (MCM) operations, a mission area central to the Navy's transition away from legacy AVENGERS in the Middle East. On April 18, 2024, the Navy embarked the first complete LCS Mine Countermeasures Mission Package aboard CANBERRA, integrating the MCM unmanned surface vehicle, towed and airborne mine-hunting systems, and associated support gear. Imagery later in April documented embarkation activities in the mission bay. On May 8, 2024, the Blue Crew conducted a change of command at Naval Base San Diego, with Cmdr. Bill Golden relieving Cmdr. William Ashley as commanding officer as the ship continued rehearsals and systems qualifications for eventual forward deployment.

Crew rotations and final preparations continued into 2025. The Gold Crew held its own change of command in early January 2025, as the ship completed local operations and logistics for departure. In March 2025, CANBERRA got underway from San Diego with the MCM package for her first operational deployment, sailing in company with the also MCM-equipped USS SANTA BARBARA (LCS 32), as part of the Navy's plan to introduce the capability to U.S. Fifth Fleet. During the trans-Pacific transit, CANBERRA refueled at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam and made port calls at Majuro and Apra Harbor, Guam. She proceeded through the Philippines' Surigao Strait en route to the Indian Ocean, reflecting the South Pacific and Indo-Pacific geography that shapes U.S. and allied sea lines of communication.

As she crossed into the Indian Ocean, CANBERRA made a goodwill visit to Kochi, India on May 7-8, 2025, building practical ties with the Indian Navy while continuing pre-arrival training with her embarked mine-warfare systems and MH-60S detachment. The visit fit within the wider regional focus on MCM and maritime security cooperation.

CANBERRA arrived at Naval Support Activity Bahrain on May 22, 2025, becoming the first INDEPENDENCE-variant LCS to deploy to the region with the full MCM mission package and the lead unit in a planned rotation of four such ships. Within days of arrival the crew hosted senior Bahrain Defence Force officials, U.S. diplomatic representatives, and the commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command to showcase the unmanned MCM systems and discuss their employment in the constrained waters of the Gulf. Throughout the summer of 2025, the ship operated from Manama in support of regional maritime security and mine countermeasures readiness alongside U.S. Fifth Fleet task forces, while the Navy finalized the drawdown of AVENGER-class MCM ships in theater. Fleet trackers and Navy releases through August and September continued to place CANBERRA in Manama with the operational MCM package, underscoring her role in the capability handover.

By late 2025, CANBERRA remained forward-deployed from Bahrain under LCSRON-1 and U.S. Fifth Fleet, with the MCM mission package contributing to deterrence and sea control in a period of heightened attention to maritime chokepoints and the security of commercial traffic. Within the Navy's broader LCS mission-module portfolio, the ship's operations represented the first sustained use of the complete MCM package at sea, complementing earlier testing and initial operational capability milestones ashore and afloat.

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USS CANBERRA Image Gallery:

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show PCU CANBERRA at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on October 10, 2022.