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“This is a significant day for our shipbuilders
and for the U.S. Navy as Ingalls once again begins fabrication of another
destroyer,” said George Nungesser, Ingalls’ DDG 51 program
manager. “We have delivered 28 of these ships to the U.S. Navy,
and our experienced and talented shipbuilders are more than ready to
produce another high-quality destroyer. This is our fourth destroyer
started in three years, and we are seeing the efficiencies that come
from building these ships back-to-back.”
DDG 121 is the third of five DDG 51 destroyers the company was awarded
in June 2013. The five-ship contract, part of a multi-year procurement
in the DDG 51 program, allows Ingalls to build ships more efficiently
by buying bulk material and moving the skilled workforce from ship to
ship.
The guided missile 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.
The highly capable, multi-mission ship 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.
Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are capable of simultaneously fighting
air, surface and subsurface battles. The ship contains myriad offensive
and defensive weapons designed to support maritime defense needs well
into the 21st century.
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