The U.S. Navy is christening its tenth Littoral Combat Ship on Saturday at Austral USA's shipyard in Mobile, Ala., the Department of Defense announced.

Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, will break the traditional bottle across the bow of the USS Gabrielle Giffords at the christening ceremony.

"The christening of the future USS Gabrielle Giffords marks the beginning of what is certain to be a long life for this great ship," said Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus. "It is also a celebration of the skill and dedication of the men and women who have built LCS 10 and the courage of her namesake."

Gabrielle Giffords is a former member of Congress who was severely wounded by a would-be assassin at a political event in Arizona in 2011.

Littoral Combat Ships are primarily designed for operation in shallow, coastal waters and carry modular mission packages for anti-submarine and counter-mine missions, among others.

The ships can operate in water as shallow as 20 feet deep and can travel at speeds of more than 40 knots.

Littoral Combat Ships come in two variants, the Freedom and Independence, which are designed and built by different industry teams. Freedom variants are built by a team lead led by Lockheed Martin. The Independence variant, which features a trimaran hull, is built by a team led by General Dynamics, Bath Iron Works and Austal USA.