Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding division has officially started construction work on the US Navy’s 78th Arleigh Burke-class (DDG 51) destroyer Ted Stevens (DDG 128).
The start of fabrication signifies the first 100 tons of steel have been cut.
In addition to being the 78th ship in the class, future USS Ted Stevens will also be the third Flight III destroyer. The first Flight III ship, future USS Jack H. Lucas, is also under construction by HII, while the second one, future USS Louis H. Wilson Jr., is being built by Bath Iron Works.
“As we begin this important milestone in the construction of another great warship, we look forward to continuing production and carrying on the extraordinary legacy of the Navy destroyer fleet,” Ingalls DDG 51 Program Manager George Nungesser said.
The ship’s name honors former US Sen. Ted Stevens, who served as a pilot in World War II and later as a senator representing Alaska. At the time he left office in 2009, he was the longest-serving Republican US Senator in history.
Ingalls has delivered 31 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers to the navy. Other destroyers currently under construction include Delbert D. Black (DDG 119), Frank E. Peterson Jr. (DDG 121), Lenah H. Sutcliffe Higbee (DDG 123) and Jack H. Lucas (DDG125).
Flight III destroyers will have improved capability and capacity to perform anti-air warfare and ballistic missile defense in support of the integrated air and missile defense mission. The Flight III design contains modifications to enable the SPY-6 radar, in association with Aegis Baseline 10, which includes larger electronically scanned arrays.
