Huntington Ingalls delivers Frank E. Petersen Jr. DDG 121 Arleigh Burke-class destroyer to US Navy.

According to information released on November 2, 2021, Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division delivered the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG 121) to the U.S. Navy during a signing ceremony held on Tuesday, November 30, 2021.
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Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG 121) navigates in the Gulf of Mexico during bravo trials. (Picture source U.S Navy)

Delivery of DDG 121 marked the 33rd destroyer Ingalls has built for U.S. Navy, with four more currently under construction, including Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee (DDG 123), Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125), Ted Stevens (DDG 128) and Jeremiah Denton (DDG 129).

Huntington Ingalls Industries is America’s largest military shipbuilding company and a provider of professional services to partners in government and industry. For more than a century, HII’s Newport News and Ingalls shipbuilding divisions in Virginia and Mississippi have built more ships in more ship classes than any other U.S. naval shipbuilder.

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. 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.

The USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG-121) is an Arleigh Burke-class Flight IIA guided missile destroyer that was christened in October 2018. The contract for the ship, along with the name, was first announced in a press release from Huntington Ingalls Industries on 30 March 2016. The USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG 121) completed Acceptance Trials on September 16, 2021, after spending two days at sea.

As a Flight IIA destroyer, DDG 121 is equipped with the Aegis Baseline 9C2 Combat System, which includes Integrated Air and Missile Defense capability and enhanced Ballistic Missile Defense capabilities. This system delivers quick reaction time, high firepower, and increased electronic countermeasures capability against a variety of threats.

The Arleigh Burke Flight IIA ships have several new features, beginning with USS Oscar Austin (DDG-79). Among the changes is the addition of two hangars for antisubmarine warfare (ASW) helicopters, and a new, longer 5-inch/62-caliber (127 mm) Mark 45 Mod 4 naval gun (installed onto USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG-81) and later ships).

The armament  Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer includes standard Missile (SM-2MR); Vertical Launch ASROC (VLA) missiles; Tomahawk; six MK-46 torpedoes (from two triple tube mounts); Close-In Weapon System (CIWS), 5-in. MK 45 Gun, Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM)