The USS Milwaukee will be 388 feet long and travel at speeds of more than 40 knots. It's expected to be delivered to the Navy in 2014. Credit: Courtesy of United States Navy

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The fifth of the Navy's new littoral combat ships under construction in Marinette will be named after Milwaukee.

The USS Milwaukee is being built at the Marinette Marine shipyard, which is making the vessels for Lockheed Martin Corp. The first littoral combat ship, USS Freedom, was made in Marinette and commissioned in Milwaukee during a ceremony at the lakefront in 2008. Since then more of the fast ships have been built or are now under construction in Marinette.

U.S. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus will meet Tuesday with Mayor Tom Barrett to discuss the USS Milwaukee. Mabus also is scheduled to throw out the first pitch at Tuesday's Milwaukee Brewers game. A video of the littoral combat ship will be shown on the video scoreboard before the game.

Littoral combat ships are small vessels designed to operate close to shore - hence the name, which means coastal or close to shore - and can be used to hunt submarines and pirates, defend ground troops and support unmanned aerial vehicles, such as Predator drones. They're also designed to quickly change such as swapping out the ship's anti-submarine package for a mine-warfare package if combat conditions change.

The ships feature a small flight deck and hangar that can accommodate two helicopters, they can launch smaller boats from a ramp in the stern and the cargo area is large enough to roll out armored fighting vehicles at a port.

Other cities chosen for littoral combat ships built at Marinette Marine are Little Rock, Ark., and Fort Worth, Texas.

Construction on the USS Milwaukee began last month in Marinette. The ship will be 388 feet long and travel at speeds of more than 40 knots. It's expected to be delivered to the Navy in 2014.