US Navy ship causes a splash at $360 million launch party

The US might have the most advanced military in the world but they still launch ships the old fashioned way.

A fanfare send off over weekend saw the $360 million USS Sioux City causing a huge splash as it was released from its holding clamps and crashed down into Menominee River in Wisconsin.

The Freedom Class vessel, manufactured by Lockheed Martin, is the sixth Littoral Combat Ship to be launched off from the Fincantieri Marinette Shipyards in Marinette.

The US Department of Defence is currently considering the future of the Freedom Class, which has been in commission in the US navy for more than a decade.

Should the navy decommission the Freedom Class, Saudi Arabia is reportedly interested in placing an order for a significantly improved model of the ship.

However, even the Kingdom's plans are now uncertain, with the oil rich state's budgets coming under huge pressure as the cost of oil continues to sink.