HII Started Fabrication of the First Flight III Arleigh Burke-class Destroyer Jack H. Lucas.

Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division officially started fabrication of the Arleigh Burke-class (DDG 51) destroyer Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125). The start of fabrication signifies the first 100 tons of steel have been cut.

HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division is fabricating Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125), the first “Flight III” ship in the U.S. Navy’s Arleigh Burke class of destroyers. HII rendering.

“The start of fabrication on a new destroyer is always exciting,” Ingalls’ DDG 51 program manager George Nungesser said.

DDG 125 is no exception. Our shipbuilders have delivered 30 of these ships to the U.S. Navy and back-to-back building has allowed them to gain experience and talent that is unmatched in our industry. They are eager to use their skillset to incorporate the Navy’s Flight III modifications into DDG 125 and provide the Navy with yet another state-of-the-art ship.”

DDG 125 will be the first “Flight III” ship in the Arleigh Burke- class of destroyers. Flight III will incorporate a new Advanced Missile Defense Radar (AMDR) that will replace the existing SPY-1 radar installed on the previous DDG 51 ships.

Our video interview on DDG 51 Flight III with HII.

This is the first ship named to honor Capt. Jack H. Lucas, who, at the age of 14, forged his mother’s signature to join the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves during World War II. Lucas, then a private first class in the Marine Corps, turned 17 just five days before the U.S. invasion of Iwo Jima and stowed away on USS Deuel (APA 160) to fight in the campaign. During a close firefight with Japanese forces, Lucas saved the lives of three fellow Marines when, after two enemy hand-grenades were thrown into a U.S. trench, he placed himself on one grenade while simultaneously pulling the other under his body. One of the grenades did not explode; the other exploded but only injured Lucas.

Lucas is the youngest Marine and the youngest service member in World War II to receive the Medal of Honor.

Jack H. Lucas is the fifth of five Arleigh Burke-class destroyers HII 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.

Ingalls has delivered 30 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers to the U.S. Navy. Other destroyers currently under construction at Ingalls include, Paul Ignatius (DDG 117), Delbert D. Black (DDG 119) Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG 121) and Lenah H. Sutcliffe Higbee (DDG 123).

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 guided missile 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.