# USS Cleveland Closes the Book on the Freedom-Class Littoral Combat Ship > Introduction: the end of a controversial naval program - Author: Maxime Marquette - Publisher: MadMax (https://mad-max.co) - Section: Investigation - Published: 2026-07-04 - Canonical URL: https://mad-max.co/en/article/luss-cleveland-clot-lere-des-navires-de-combat-littoraux-freedom ## Introduction: the end of a controversial naval program ### A ceremony loaded with symbolism On **May 16, 2026**, the **US Navy** officially commissioned the **USS Cleveland (LCS 31)**, its newest and final **littoral combat ship** of the **Freedom** variant. The ceremony was held in the ship's namesake city of **Cleveland**, **Ohio**, before thousands of spectators who came to witness this historic moment for the **American Navy**. The **Acting Secretary of the Navy**, **Hung Cao**, said during the ceremony: **"Today, we celebrate the sailors who bring this ship to life. To the officers and crew of the USS Cleveland, today is your day."** The crowd that gathered along the waterfront included veterans, local officials, and families of the crew, many of whom had waited years to see this day arrive after repeated delays in the ship's construction and delivery schedule. For a city with deep industrial roots on the Great Lakes, the commissioning carried a weight that went beyond the usual naval pageantry. ### The sixteenth and last of its line The **USS Cleveland** is the **16th and final** ship of the **Freedom class** to join the fleet, marking the end of a program launched on **November 8, 2008**, with the commissioning of the **USS Freedom**. This ship is also the **fourth** to bear the name of the **Ohio** city. *Watching a nearly two-decade naval chapter close, one marked by significant technical controversies, while still celebrating the crew who will carry it forward, captures the US Navy's ability to turn its struggles into fresh starts.* ## A program marked by years of technical trouble ### Recurring mechanical problems According to **Navy Times**, the **littoral combat ship** program was marked by years of **mechanical problems**, **runaway costs**, and the **early retirement** of several ships in the class. These issues drew repeated criticism from **American defense** analysts over the years. Despite these setbacks, the **Navy** chose to see the program through to completion rather than abandon it midway, a decision that illustrates how hard it is to reverse course once a weapons program reaches a certain level of industrial and political investment. Congressional oversight committees repeatedly pressed Navy leadership over the years to explain cost overruns and reliability failures tied to the class, hearings that at times became testy exchanges between lawmakers and program managers unable to offer firm assurances about when the persistent problems would finally be resolved. ### A class finally completed despite it all According to **Wikipedia** and several specialized sources, the **Navy** had announced that the **USS Cleveland** would be the last ship of the **Freedom class** to be built, even though additional orders for **Independence**-variant ships had also been placed separately. *Finishing a program despite years of technical setbacks isn't necessarily an admission of failure — sometimes it's simply the price of not wasting decades of industrial investment already committed.* ## The ship's journey before entering service ### Construction and delivery stretched over several years The **USS Cleveland** was laid down in **June 2021**, christened in **April 2023**, and delivered to the fleet on **November 26, 2025**, by the **Fincantieri Marinette Marine** shipyard, according to **Stars and Stripes**. That delivery marked the definitive close of **Freedom-class** construction after more than twenty years of industrial effort. The gap of more than four years between laying down the keel and final delivery reflects the broader production slowdown that affected the class in its later years, as the shipyard worked through a backlog of technical fixes demanded by the Navy before it would accept another hull into the fleet. Between its delivery and its commissioning ceremony, the ship made several notable port calls, including **Quebec City**, **Halifax**, and **Newport**, according to **U.S. Fleet Forces Command**, before reaching its home port. ### A symbolic journey to its hometown The ship's route from **Marinette**, **Wisconsin**, to its commissioning ceremony in its namesake city required careful coordination among the crew's various divisions, with each stage demanding rigorous technical preparation before the final arrival. *There's something deeply American about sailing a warship across the Canadian Atlantic before triumphantly bringing it home to its namesake city for its official ceremony.* ## The "man our ship and bring her to life" ceremony ### A century-old naval tradition observed to the letter In keeping with **American naval tradition**, the ship's sponsor, **Robyn Modly**, wife of former Navy Under Secretary **Thomas Modly** and a **Cleveland** native, gave the traditional order: **"Man our ship and bring her to life!"** At that signal, the crew ran aboard to take possession of the ship. That moment, captured on camera by the **Navy**, symbolically marks the ship's transition from a simple metal structure to a fully operational naval unit, integrated into the active **United States** fleet. ### Military and civilian dignitaries gathered for the occasion **Admiral Karl Thomas**, commander of **U.S. Fleet Forces Command**, also spoke at the ceremony, alongside the ship's commanding officer, **Commander Bruce Hallett**, who urged his crew to **"forge a legacy that will endure long after we've all left these decks."** *Commander Hallett's words serve as a reminder that every ship, whatever controversies surround its class, quickly becomes far more than a technical platform: it becomes the professional home of dozens of sailors for years to come.* ## A new strategic assignment at Mayport ### A home port built for forward presence After its commissioning ceremony, the **USS Cleveland** reached its permanent home port at **Naval Station Mayport** in **Florida**. According to the **US Navy**, this assignment is meant to support **forward presence**, **maritime security**, **sea control**, and **deterrence** in key operational theaters. Mayport already hosts a cluster of surface combatants, making it a natural fit for a new littoral combat ship whose shallow draft and modular mission systems are best suited to operations closer to shore than the open-ocean patrols typically assigned to larger destroyers and cruisers based elsewhere on the East Coast. This strategic positioning in **Florida** puts the ship close to areas of major interest for **American maritime security**, particularly the **Caribbean** and the **western Atlantic**, regions where American naval presence remains a constant priority. ### An operational role still to be fully defined Although its precise mission remains to be clarified in the months following its commissioning, naval analysts expect the **USS Cleveland** to quickly take part in **security patrols** and **littoral control exercises**, in line with the traditional role of its ship class. *Whatever the past criticism of the program, a brand-new ship assigned to a strategic point like Mayport remains a concrete asset for the American naval posture in the Atlantic.* ## What the end of the Freedom program means for the future ### A page turning for the US Navy The end of **Freedom-class ship** production marks a turning point in **American** naval strategy, which will now have to rely on other platforms for its **littoral combat** missions, particularly the **Independence class** already in service and future programs still in development. Some retired officers have argued publicly that the Navy should use this moment to conduct an honest after-action review of the entire littoral combat ship concept, rather than simply moving on to the next shipbuilding program without absorbing the lessons of what went wrong the first time. This transition comes as **US Navy** priorities shift toward increasingly complex threats, particularly those posed by the rapid modernization of the **Chinese** and **Russian** fleets, pushing for a deep rethink of future capability needs. ### An industrial legacy despite the criticism Despite the technical criticism accumulated over the years, the program helped build significant industrial expertise at builders like **Fincantieri Marinette Marine**, expertise that could benefit future **American** naval projects. *Every controversial naval program still leaves behind lasting industrial skill — and amid growing naval competition with China, that accumulated expertise is worth more than ever to the West.* ## Global naval competition as the backdrop ### Necessary modernization against strategic rivals The commissioning of the **USS Cleveland** comes at a time when **China** continues to rapidly expand its own **navy**, now considered by several **defense** analysts to be the largest in the world by number of active ships. In this context of intense strategic competition, every new unit added to the **American fleet**, even one from a controversial program, helps maintain a credible naval presence against the growing maritime ambitions of **Beijing** and **Moscow**. ### A fleet that must keep modernizing quickly **Naval strategy** experts generally agree that the end of the **Freedom** program should not slow the **US Navy's** broader modernization efforts, which must continue investing heavily in new generations of ships to preserve its strategic edge against its rivals. *The West cannot afford to slow its naval modernization at the very moment its strategic rivals are accelerating theirs — every ship commissioned counts in this quiet but decisive race.* ## A warm welcome from a city proud of its ship ### Community days before the official ceremony In the days leading up to the ceremony, the **USS Cleveland** crew took part in a **community day** in the city, allowing local residents to meet the sailors before they officially entered service. A **commander's dinner** was also organized to mark the occasion for local and military dignitaries. An **enlistment ceremony** also allowed several **Ohio** natives to take their oath before the future **USS Cleveland**, a powerful symbolic gesture that strengthened the bond between the city and its namesake ship. *These community gestures, often overlooked in media coverage of major military programs, remind us that behind every warship stands an entire city proudly claiming its naval heritage.* ## Conclusion: a symbol of transition for the American fleet ### One chapter closes, another begins The commissioning of the **USS Cleveland** marks both the end of a turbulent naval program and the beginning of a new chapter of service for this ship and its crew. Despite the technical criticism accumulated over the years, the **May 16** ceremony offered a moment of legitimate pride for the sailors involved. ### A fleet that must now look to the future As the **Freedom class** takes its final bow, the **US Navy's** attention now turns to the next generations of combat ships, in a context of global naval competition that leaves little room for strategic slowdown. *What really matters isn't the end of a program, but what the US Navy chooses to learn from it to build, faster and smarter, the next generation of ships the West will need.* **By Maxime Marquette, columnist** ## Columnist's transparency note ### Editorial stance I am not a journalist but a **columnist and analyst**. My expertise lies in observing and analysing the geopolitical, economic and strategic dynamics that shape our world. My work is to take political strategies apart, to understand global economic movements, to put the decisions of international actors in context and to offer analytical perspectives on the changes that are redefining our societies. I do not claim the cold objectivity of traditional journalism, which stops at reporting facts. **I claim analytical clarity**, rigorous interpretation and a deep understanding of the complex issues that concern us all. My role is to give meaning to the facts, to place them in their historical and strategic context, and to offer a critical reading of events. ### Method and sources This text keeps the basic distinction between **verified facts and interpretive analysis**. The rule never changes: a factual claim is published only when a verifiable source supports it, and the sources this article actually used are listed under **Sources**, never here. **Primary source families** used by the publication, when the story has them: official statements from governments and international institutions, public statements by political leaders, reports from intergovernmental organisations, dispatches from recognised international news agencies. **Secondary source families**: specialised publications, internationally recognised news media, analyses from established research institutions, reports from industry organisations. When an article cites statistical, economic or geopolitical data, it comes from the institutions that produce it (intergovernmental organisations, central banks, national statistics offices), and the exact institution is named under **Sources**. ### Nature of the analysis The analyses, interpretations and perspectives in the analytical sections of this article are a **critical, contextual synthesis** based on the information available, the trends observed and the expert comments cited in the sources consulted. My role is to interpret these facts, to set them in the context of today's geopolitical and economic dynamics, and to give them a coherent meaning within the larger story of the changes shaping our time. These analyses reflect expertise built through continuous observation of international affairs and an understanding of the strategic mechanisms that drive global actors. This article describes a documented state of affairs on its publication date, not a prediction: later developments may shift its outlook. No update is promised in advance; when an article is corrected or completed, the change is dated in the text. ## Sources ### Primary sources - [USS Cleveland (LCS 31) Commissions in Namesake City — U.S. Navy, May 18, 2026](https://www.navy.mil/Press-Office/News-Stories/display-news/Article/4494699/uss-cleveland-lcs-31-commissions-in-namesake-city/) - [US Navy commissions final littoral combat ship after years of issues — Navy Times, May 18, 2026](https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2026/05/18/us-navy-commissions-final-littoral-combat-ship-after-years-of-issues/) - [Navy accepts final Freedom-class littoral combat ship as future USS Cleveland — Stars and Stripes, November 28, 2025](https://www.stripes.com/branches/navy/2025-11-28/freedom-littoral-combat-ship-cleveland-19911968.html) ### Secondary sources - [U.S. Navy Commissions its Very Last Littoral Combat Ship — The Maritime Executive, May 19, 2026](https://maritime-executive.com/article/u-s-navy-commissions-its-very-last-littoral-combat-ship) - [Fincantieri Marinette Marine Delivered Final Freedom-Class LCS — Forbes, December 2, 2025](https://www.forbes.com/sites/petersuciu/2025/12/02/fincantieri-marinette-marine-delivered-final-freedom-class-lcs/) - [USS Cleveland (LCS 31) Arrives to Mayport — U.S. Fleet Forces Command, June 18, 2026](https://www.usff.navy.mil/Press-Room/News-Stories/Article/4521094/uss-cleveland-lcs-31-arrives-to-mayport/) --- Source: Maxime Marquette, MadMax. When citing, name the author and link https://mad-max.co/en/article/luss-cleveland-clot-lere-des-navires-de-combat-littoraux-freedom