USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul (LCS-21)

In 2002, the US Navy initiated a program to develop the first of a fleet of littoral combat ships.[10] The Navy initially ordered two monohull ships from Lockheed Martin, which became known as the Freedom-class littoral combat ships after the first ship of the class, USS Freedom.[10][11] Odd-numbered U.S. Navy littoral combat ships are built using the Freedom-class monohull design, while even-numbered ships are based on a competing design, the trimaran hull Independence-class littoral combat ship from General Dynamics.[10] The initial order of littoral combat ships involved a total of four ships, including two of the Freedom-class design.[10] Minneapolis-Saint Paul is the eleventh Freedom-class littoral combat ship to be built.

On 29 December 2010, Marinette Marine was awarded the contract to build the ship in Marinette, Wisconsin.[1][12]

The ship was christened at the Marinette shipyard in 2019. The commissioning ceremony was expected to take place in the spring of 2021 before a problem with the propulsion system was discovered.[13] On 15 June 2021, Minneapolis-St. Paul was launched in Marinette. The Navy commissioned the ship on 21 May 2022 in Duluth, Minnesota under the command of Commander Alfonza White.[5][14]

In September 2022, the ship was involved in a collision with Danmark, a 252-foot full-rigged ship. Danmark was being towed by a tugboat when she collided with the stationary Minneapolis-Saint Paul. No injuries were reported.[15]

• This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here.