The US Navy has exercised an option to add an additional DDG 51 destroyer to a multi-year contract awarded in 2023 to General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, a business unit of General Dynamics.
“We are proud to be selected to build this ship for the U.S. Navy and to continue our legacy of contributing to the nation’s defense,” said Charles F. Krugh , president of Bath Iron Works.
The DDG 51-class guided missile destroyers are warships that provide multi-mission offensive and defensive capabilities. Destroyers can operate independently or as part of Carrier Strike Groups, Surface Action Groups, and Expeditionary Strike Groups.
These multi-mission surface combatants are capable of conducting anti-air warfare (AAW), anti-submarine warfare (ASW), and anti-surface warfare (ASuW). The destroyer’s armament has greatly expanded the role of the ship in strike warfare, utilizing the MK-41 vertical launching system (VLS), and, beginning with ships equipped with Aegis baseline 9, ballistic missile defense (BMD).
The Arleigh Burke class (DDG 51) destroyers replaced the Charles F. Adams class (DDG 2). They were designed with an all-new hull form, incorporating much of the Spruance class (DD 963) destroyer propulsion and machinery plant, and the integrated Aegis weapon system (AWS).
The AWS is composed of a multi-function phased array radar, advanced AAW and ASW systems, VLS, and the Tomahawk weapon system.
The first DDG 51 was commissioned on July 4, 1991, and the class is still in production. The ships have been continuously upgraded with advanced sensors and weapons and improved support systems.
Bath Iron Works has currently under construction the Flight IIA Arleigh Burke-class destroyers Harvey C. Barnum Jr. (DDG 124) and Patrick Gallagher (DDG 127), as well as the Flight III configuration destroyers Louis H. Wilson Jr. (DDG 126), William Charette (DDG 130), Quentin Walsh (DDG 132), John E. Kilmer (DDG 134), and Richard G. Lugar (DDG 136).