Marinette Marine to build USS Sioux City

MARINETTE - Marinette Marine will be building one of the United States Navy's newly named littoral combat ships.

Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced Wednesday the names of the next five Navy ships.

Mabus says Marinette Marine will build the USS Sioux City, while Austal USA in Mobile, Alabama will construct the USS Omaha. Both of vessels are LCS.

The three other Navy ships are Arleigh Burke class guided-missile destroyers, the USS John Finn, the USS Ralph Johnson and the USS Rafael Peralta.

The Navy is requesting money in the defense budget to build four littoral combat ships next year. Two of those would be built at Marinette Marine.

But because of President Obama's plan, the Navy is holding off on awarding contracts for two more of the ships sometime during the next five years.

That would mean one less ship for Marinette Marine than originally planned.