US Navy’s new guided-missile destroyer USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. wraps up sea trials

US-based military company Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) has revealed that its shipbuilding division completed the final round of sea trials for Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG 121).

The ship was launched in 2018 after the initial contract for its construction was signed in 2016. The destroyer honors Frank Emmanuel Petersen Jr., who was the first African-American aviator and general officer in the United States Marine Corps. After entering the Naval Aviation Cadet Program in 1950, Petersen would go on to fly more than 350 combat missions throughout the Korean and Vietnam wars.

Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are highly capable, multi-mission ships and can conduct a variety of operations, from peacetime presence and crisis management to sea control and power projection – all in support of the United States military strategy.

The vessels are capable of simultaneously fighting air, surface and subsurface battles. The ship contains a myriad of offensive and defensive weapons designed to support maritime defense into the 21st century.

So far, the company has delivered 32 destroyers to the navy and currently has four more under construction including Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee (DDG 123), Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125), Ted Stevens (DDG 128) and Jeremiah Denton (DDG 129).