US Navy’s 1st Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyer completes sea trials

The US Navy’s first Flight III Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, future USS Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125), has completed builder’s trials, Naval Sea Systems Command informed.

The trials, which ended on 15 December 2022, were conducted by the shipbuilder, Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division in Pascagoula, Mississippi.

The builder’s trials consist of a series of in-port and at-sea demonstrations that allow the shipbuilder to assess the ship’s systems.

For future USS Jack H. Lucas, these trials also mark the first opportunity to test the new Flight III systems while underway.

“Embarking on builder’s sea trials is a significant accomplishment for the DDG 51 program”, said Capt. Seth Miller, DDG 51 class program manager, Program Executive Office (PEO) Ships. “As the first Flight III ship, DDG 125 is the culmination of years of dedication and perseverance to design, build, and integrate the Flight III capability of BL 10, AMDR and the supporting systems such as the new Electric Plant and associated upgrade to the Machinery Control System.”

The future USS Jack H. Lucas will be the 75th Arleigh Burke (DDG 51) class destroyer and the first of the DDG 51 Flight III ships. The Flight III upgrade is centred on the AN/SPY-6(V)1 Air and Missile Defense Radar and incorporates upgrades to the electrical power and cooling capacity. Flight III is the fourth Flight upgrade in the history of the class, and the largest upgrade to date.

The DDG 51 Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer (DDG 51) is a multi-mission guided missile destroyer able to operate offensively and defensively, independently, or as units of Carrier Strike Groups, Expeditionary Strike Groups, and Surface Action Groups.

These ships respond to the full range of military operations including Low-Intensity Conflict/Coastal and Littoral Offshore Warfare scenarios and open ocean conflict, providing or augmenting power projection.

The future Ted Stevens (DDG 128), Jeremiah Denton (DDG 129), George M. Neal (DDG 131) and Sam Nunn (DDG 133) are also under construction at HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division.