General Dynamics Bath Iron Works (GD BIW) has scored a contract to build another Arleigh Burke-class destroyer for the US Navy.
The new ship, the DDG-149, will be named after retired Navy Hospital Corpsman Third Class Robert R. Ingram, according to the information published by US Senator Susan Collins .
Ingram is a Vietnam War veteran, Medal of Honor recipient, and American hero who saved the lives of many wounded US Marines following an ambush by the North Vietnamese, sustaining four gunshot wounds himself in the process.
“We are proud to continue to deliver the most sophisticated surface combatants to the U.S. Navy fleet to protect our nation and our families. We are actively driving our performance to deliver Bath-built quality to the fleet,” Bath Iron Works commented.
“Our continued strategy of engaging our employees and incorporating their suggestions for shrinking the time needed to build an Arleigh Burke destroyer is delivering meaningful results for Flight III production.”
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.
The Arleigh Burke-class destroyers replaced the Charles F. Adams-class (DDG 2). The class employs all-steel construction and comprises four separate variants or “Flights.”
DDGs 51-71 represent the original design and are designated as Flight I; DDGs 72-78 are Flight II ships; and DDGs 79-124 and DDG 127 are Flight IIA ships.
The Flight III baseline begins with DDGs 125-126 and continues with DDG 128 and follows.
According to the US Navy, DDG 51 Flight III upgrade is centered on the AN/SPY-6(V)1 air and missile defense radar (AMDR) system that provides vastly increased capability over Flight IIA ships. The AMDR enables Flight III ships to simultaneously perform anti-air warfare and ballistic missile defense.
Seventy-four DDG 51-class ships have been delivered to the fleet (DDGs 51 -123, 125), with 25 more on contract and 12 ships in various stages of construction.
The US Navy recently launched USS George M. Neal (DDG 131), the fourth Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyer to be built at HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division.