USS Independence (LCS-2) is the lead ship of the Independence-class of littoral combat ships. She is the sixth ship of the United States Navy to be named for the concept of independence. The design was produced by the General Dynamics consortium for the Navy's LCS program, and competes with the Lockheed Martin designed Freedom variant.

USS Freedom (LCS-1) is the lead ship of the Freedom-class littoral combat ship for the United States Navy. She is the third vessel to be so named after the concept of freedom. She is the design competitor produced by the Lockheed Martin consortium, in competition with the General Dynamics–designed USS Independence. She was officially accepted by the Supervisor of Shipbuilding Gulf Coast, on behalf of the US Navy, from the Lockheed Martin/Marinette Marine/Gibbs and Cox team, in Marinette, Wisconsin, on 18 September 2008.