USS Little Rock Due In New York In Advance Of Commissioning

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — A new U.S. Navy ship is due in New York in advance of its commissioning, scheduled for later this month.

The USS Little Rock is expected to arrive at Buffalo's Lake Erie waterfront on Monday. It will be commissioned Dec. 16 at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval and Military Park, where three World War II vessels are docked. Among them is the original USS Little Rock, which is now a floating museum.

A Navy ship has never before been commissioned alongside its namesake.

The original USS Little Rock was in service from August 1944 until 1976.

The new $360 million version is known as a littoral combat ship and is lighter, faster and high-tech. It was built at a shipyard in Wisconsin.