Arleigh Burke-class destroyer Frank E. Petersen Jr. sailed away from Pascagoula.

According to a PR published by HII on April 15, 2022, Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG 121) departed from HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division. Frank E. Petersen Jr. will be commissioned next month in Charleston, South Carolina, before sailing to its homeport at Hawaii’s Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.
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Arleigh Burke-class destroyer Frank E. Petersen Jr. (Picture source: HII)

Frank E. Petersen Jr. is the 33rd destroyer Ingalls has built for the U.S. Navy, with five more currently under construction at Ingalls, including Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee (DDG 123), Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125), Ted Stevens (DDG 128), Jeremiah Denton (DDG 129) and George M. Neal (DDG 131). Ingalls is working with the Navy to keep the destroyer line strong as the Navy transitions to the next generation of guided-missile destroyers.

Frank E. Petersen Jr. is named to honor the U.S. Marine Corps’ first African American aviator and general officer. After entering the Naval Aviation Cadet Program in 1950, Petersen went on to fly more than 350 combat missions during the Korean and Vietnam wars.

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 Patrick Gallagher will be powered by four General Electric LM2500 gas turbines developing 100,000 shp. She can reach a top speed of 31 knots (57 km/h).

The ship will be armed with one 5 inches (127 mm)/54 caliber Mk 45 naval gun, 25 mm Mk 38 automatic cannons, four .50 cal (12.7 mm) machine guns, one 20 mm Phalanx CIWS, two Mk 32 triple torpedo tubes for Mk 46 torpedo, 96-cell Mk 41 VLS able to launch RIM-66M medium-range surface-to-air missiles, BGM-109 Tomahawk long-range cruise missiles, and RUM-139 Vertical Launch ASROC anti-submarine missiles.