The Navy on Tuesday awarded two Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) to Mobile-based Austal USA, a move which Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL) and Congressman Bradley Byrne (AL-1) applauded.

The two awarded contract modifications to Austal come from funds appropriated by Congress for Fiscal Year 2018. Lockheed Martin in Marinette, Wisconsin, was awarded a single LCS.

“The fact that Austal received two of the three contracts from Fiscal Year 2018 for Littoral Combat Ships is yet another indication of the high quality work being performed at our shipyard in Mobile,” Byrne said in a statement.

The congressman, who represents Mobile in D.C., celebrated what the news meant for the area’s workforce.

“This marks the third straight year that Austal has received two of the three contracts – a testament to the fact we are delivering capable ships on time and on budget. Congratulations to the almost 4,000 men and women who work at the shipyard and help equip the Navy with warships,” Byrne concluded.

Excellent news! Testimony to the incredible work that @Austal_USA is doing in #Mobile. https://t.co/iT5Sx1ruqp

— Richard Shelby (@SenShelby) September 19, 2018

Per Inside Defense, these three FY-18 LCS awards represent the Navy’s 30th, 31st and 32nd procurement, which fulfills the service’s requirement. Nonetheless, the congressional appropriations process – led by Shelby – agreed to fund three more LCS awards in FY-19, despite the White House not wanting to continue funding of the ship and the Navy only requesting one.

The extra ships to be awarded next fiscal year are crucial to retaining skilled workers and smoothing the transition to building the Navy’s future frigate, which is scheduled to go into procurement in FY-20 .

Sean Ross is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn