Be afraid...

Pirates, very afraid. The navy has a new ship in its arsenal.

I would not want to meet this puppy at sea.

The U.S. Navy officially accepted delivery of the future USS Independence (LCS 2) Dec. 18, 2009 at the Austal shipyard in Mobile, Alabama. The ship will be commissioned on January 16 and is expected to be ready for 'Sail Away' status by February 2010.

Prior to delivery, the Navy's Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV) conducted Acceptance Trials aboard LCS 2 on Nov. 13-19, and found the ship's propulsion plant, sea-keeping and self-defense performance to be "commendable," and recommended that the chief of naval operations authorize delivery of the ship following the correction or waiver of cited material deficiencies.

Before the Navy inspection the second Littoral Combat Ship (LCS 2) Independence successfully completed the builder's sea trials test series following a series of demonstrations performed while cruising in the Gulf of Mexico at moderate and high sea state conditions. These trials were testing the ship and all of its systems in preparation for final inspection by the Navy before delivery.

link

LCS definition on wiki