The US Navy has taken delivery of the future guided-missile destroyer USS Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125), its first Flight III destroyer, from Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division.
After the christening ceremony held in May, the DDG 125 was formally handed over to the Navy on June 27.
Before this milestone, the ship underwent a sequence of trials, both at sea and at the pier, to showcase its preparedness in terms of materials and operations.
The future USS Jack H. Lucas is the 75th Arleigh Burke (DDG 51) class destroyer, and the first of the DDG 51 Flight III ships.
Besides being equipped with a wide array of offensive and defensive weapons, DDG 125 configuration incorporates the AN/SPY-6(V)1 Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR) as well as the Aegis Baseline 10 Combat System. It also incorporates upgrades to the electrical power and cooling capacity.
The destroyer is 509.5 feet long and 59 feet wide, with a displacement of 9,496 tons. The ship will homeport in San Diego, California.
The DDG 51 Arleigh Burke-class can operate offensively and defensively, independently, or as units of carrier strike groups, expeditionary strike groups, and surface action groups.
“Delivery of the future USS Jack H. Lucas is an historic occasion. As the Navy’s first Flight III destroyer, DDG 125 brings the most advanced Integrated Air and Missile Defense capability to the fleet,” said Capt. Seth Miller, DDG 51 class program manager, Program Executive Office (PEO) Ships.
HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division is also under construction on the future Ted Stevens (DDG 128), Jeremiah Denton (DDG 129), George M. Neal (DDG 131) and Sam Nunn (DDG 133).
