Austal contracted for engineering services on the USS Tulsa

Aug. 1 (UPI) -- Austal USA has received a $14.8 million order against a previous contract to provide engineering and management services in support of the littoral combat ship USS Tulsa.

The order, announced Tuesday by the Department of Defense, is in support of post-shakedown availability of the vessel.

The PSA involves a period of four to five months of engineering and procurement efforts before the ship is officially transferred to the U.S. Navy after shipbuilding and conversion.

The program will include management, planning, engineering, design and prefabrication . Work will be performed in Mobile, Ala., and San Diego, Calif., and is expected to be completed by August 2019.

Navy fiscal 2018 shipbuilding and conversion funding in the amount of $7.3 million will be obligated at time of award, the Pentagon said.

The LCS is designed specifically to operate in shallow coastal waters, along with regular sea operations. It is designed to be modular, allowing multiple weapons and sensor packages depending on the mission of the ship.

The vessel's standard armament is a MK 110 57mm gun. It can also be equipped with RIM-110 RAM surface-to-air missiles and a variety of other ordnance. Additionally, the LCS can carry up to two helicopters and vertical take-off drones like the MQ-8 Fire Scout.