USS Billings
USS Billings (LCS-15) is a Freedom-class littoral combat ship in the United States Navy. Named after Billings, Montana, she is the eighth ship of her class.
Built by Marinette Marine in Wisconsin, Billings’ keel was laid on November 2, 2015. She was launched on July 1, 2017, acquired by the Navy on February 1, 2019, and commissioned on August 3, 2019 in Key West, Florida. Her homeport is Naval Station Mayport, Florida. The ship conducted trials on Lake Michigan on December 6, 2018.
What Billings can do
- Displacement: about 3,500 metric tons; length 378 feet; beam 57.4 feet; draft 13 feet
- Propulsion: two Rolls-Royce MT30 gas turbines, two Colt-Pielstick diesels, four waterjets
- Speed and range: about 45 knots; 3,500 nautical miles at 18 knots; endurance of 21 days
- Crews: 15–50 core crew and 75 mission crew (Blue and Gold crews)
- Armament: 57 mm gun, RIM-116 missiles, Mk 50 torpedo, NETFIRES PAM in the anti-surface module, two .50 cal guns (with room for up to four 30 mm Bushmaster guns)
- Aviation: flight deck and hangar able to carry two MH-60R/S helicopters and an MQ-8 Fire Scout
- Sensors and maintenance: built to include automated sensors for condition-based maintenance
Service highlights
- In June 2019, Billings visited Cleveland, Ohio, and in August 2019 she was officially commissioned in Key West.
- On June 24, 2019, she sustained damage to her starboard bridge wing after a collision with the bulk carrier Rosaire Desgagnes in Montreal.
- July 4, 2021, Billings’ crew visited their namesake city of Billings, Montana; July 10, 2021, she conducted a PASSEX with the Dominican Republic Navy.
- August 24, 2021, Billings and USS Burlington were dispatched to help Haiti after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake.
- In October 2025, Billings was moored to USS New Jersey in the Delaware River for public display and birthday celebrations of the Navy and Marines.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 15:04 (CET).