The newest Independence-variant littoral combat ship and future USS Omaha (LCS 12) arrived Jan. 19 after successfully completing her maiden voyage from Mobile, Alabama.

Following construction and acceptance trials at the Austal USA shipyard in Mobile, the ship completed a rigorous schedule that included vendor training, various crew and ship certification events, several maintenance availabilities and a Panama Canal transit.

“I couldn’t be prouder of the hard work and dedication Omaha’s crew has exhibited over the last eight months away from our homeport and bringing our ship to life,” said Cmdr. Michael Toth, Omaha’s commanding officer. “Their efforts have safely brought Omaha to homeport and set a culture of pride, professionalism and excellence which will endure in the years to come.”

Omaha sailed from Mobile to Mayport, Fla.; Norfolk, Va.; Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and Manzanillo, Mexico before arriving in San Diego. Omaha will be commissioned in downtown San Diego on Feb. 3.

“After her commissioning, Omaha will join Commander, Surface Division 11 and immediately begin the next steps in preparing for deployment,” said Capt. Jordy Harrison, commander, Littoral Combat Ship Squadron 1. “We are proud of this ship and her crew and welcome them to the growing Fleet of LCS.”

Omaha is the eleventh littoral combat ship to enter the fleet and sixth Independence-variant littoral combat ship. She joins USS Independence (LCS 2), USS Coronado (LCS 4), USS Jackson (LCS 6), USS Montgomery (LCS 8) and USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10) in homeport San Diego.

LCS is a high speed, agile, shallow draft, mission-focused surface combatant designed for operations in the littoral environment, yet fully capable of open ocean operations. As part of the surface fleet, LCS has the ability to counter and outpace evolving threats independently or within a network of surface combatants. Paired with advanced sonar and mine hunting capabilities, LCS provides a major contribution, as well as a more diverse set of options to commanders, across the spectrum of operations.