Independence was delivered to the Navy at the end of 2009, and is a modular high speed corvette intended for operation in the littoral zone with a small crew. It is optimized for deploying and tending off-board systems, manned and unmanned; and takes on various capability profiles with the installation of a mission package, missions to include finding and destroying mines, hunting submarines in and near shallow water, and engaging in surface combat against boats, but not against warships. The ship is a trimaran design with a wide beam above the waterline, which provides the space needed for it to have a larger flight deck than is found on any of the much larger destroyers and cruisers in the US Navy, as well as a large hangar and a similarly large mission bay below. The trimaran hull configuration also exhibits low hydrodynamic drag, allowing efficient operation on two diesel powered water jets at speeds up to 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph), and high speed operation on two gas turbine powered water jets at speeds up to a sustainable 44 knots (81 km/h; 51 mph), with speed crests exceeding that.
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