USS FORT WORTH (LCS 3), "still PCU until September 22, 2012", is the third littoral combat ship (LCS) delivered to the US Navy, and the second LCS of the steel, semi-planing monohull Freedom variant.
LCS is a high speed, agile, shallow-draft, focused-mission surface combatant designed for operation in near-shore environments yet fully capable of open-ocean operation. USS FORT WORTH, a high-speed steel mono-hull ship, is designed to defeat asymmetric "anti-access" threats such as mines, quiet diesel submarines and fast surface craft. The 387-foot USS FORT WORTH "will be" outfitted with reconfigurable payloads, called mission packages, which can be changed out quickly, and focus on three mission areas: mine countermeasures, surface warfare and anti-submarine warfare.
(LCS 3) was built by Lockheed Martin, set sail August 6 from the Marinette Marine shipyard in Wisconsin on its maiden voyage to Galveston, Texas, for its commissioning September 22.
When this photo was taken, USS FORT WORTH was moored at Alexandra Pier (berth: hangar 3), Montreal Harbour, Canada.