USS Fort Worth to be Christened This Weekend

The U.S. Navy will break out the champagne this weekend to help christen a battleship in northeast Wisconsin.

The USS Fort Worth is a littoral combat ship. That's a new class of warship designed to conduct water combat just off an enemy's shore.

Navy officials will christen the ship Saturday at the Marinette Marine Corp. shipyard. Former deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England will carry on the Navy tradition of cracking a champagne bottle across the bow.

The Navy says the ship was named in honor of the Texas city's history of supporting the armed forces.

Littoral combat ships can be used to defend ground troops and hunt submarines. They're also designed for quick modification. For example, a ship's anti-submarine package could be quickly swapped out for a mine-warfare package.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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