Navy Accepts Delivery of Future USS Michael Murphy

The Navy accepted delivery of the future USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112) today from General Dynamics at their Bath Iron Works shipyard.

Michael Murphy is the last DDG 51-class ship to deliver until the class restart ships begin delivering in fiscal year 2016.

DDG 112 successfully completed combined super trials in the Atlantic Ocean in March. During the four days underway, Bath Iron Works and the Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey tested the ship and its systems as required to prove operational readiness.

“This delivery marks a very significant milestone for not only the crew of Michael Murphy, but also the Navy, the shipbuilder Bath Iron Works, and the local community in Bath, Maine,” said Capt. Mark Vandroff, Program Executive Office Ships’ DDG 51-class program manager. “This is yet another well-built and tremendously capable ship that will soon join the Fleet. It will be bittersweet to see the ship sail away this summer, but we look forward to delivering more of these key war fighting ships in the future.”

The new destroyer honors the late Lt. Michael P. Murphy, who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions as leader of a Navy SEAL team in Afghanistan. Murphy was the first person to be awarded the medal for actions in Afghanistan, and the first member of the U.S. Navy to receive the award since the Vietnam War.

Accepting delivery of DDG 112 represents the official transfer of the ship from the shipbuilder to the Navy, and signifies Michael Murphy’s transition to operational status. A commissioning ceremony will be held this October in New York City.

The DDG 51-class ship is a multi-mission, guided-missile destroyer designed to operate in multi-threat air, surface and sub-surface threat environments. The class of ship provides combat capability and survivability characteristics, while minimizing procurement and lifetime support costs due to the program’s maturity. The DDG 51 program continues to reinforce affordability and efficiency in its shipbuilding program with a commitment to deliver ships at the highest possible quality and to manage a seamless transition to the Fleet.

DDG 113, currently under construction by Huntington Ingalls Industries in Pascagoula, Miss., will be the first of the DDG 51-class program continuation ships. DDG 114, 115, and 116 are also under contract with BIW and HII and are expected to begin delivery in 2016.

As one of the Defense Department’s largest acquisition organizations, Program Executive Office Ships, an affiliated program executive office of the Naval Sea Systems Command, is responsible for executing the development and procurement of all major surface combatants, amphibious ships, special mission and support ships, and special warfare craft. The majority of shipbuilding programs currently managed by PEO Ships are benefiting from serial production efficiencies, which are critical to delivering ships on cost and schedule.

[mappress]
Naval Today Staff , May 06, 2012; Image: navy