Destroyer USS Lenah H. Sutcliffe Higbee formally joins US Navy.

According to information published by the US DoD on December 1, 2022, the Navy accepted delivery of the future guided-missile destroyer USS Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee (DDG 123) from Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Ingalls shipbuilding division.
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Artist rendering of the Flight IIA Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Lenah H. Sutcliffe Higbee. (Picture source: US DoD)

Accepting delivery of DDG 123 represents the official transfer of the ship from the shipbuilder to the Navy. Prior to delivery, the ship conducted a series of at-sea and pier-side trials to demonstrate its material and operational readiness.

The ship’s namesake, Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee, served as the second Superintendent of the Navy Nurse Corps from 1911 to 1922 and was the first woman to receive the Navy Cross for distinguished service in the line of her profession and devotion to duty.

When she entered naval service in 1908, she was one of the first 20 women to join the newly established Navy Nurse Corps and contributed her nursing skills to the Navy during the First World War.

DDG 123 is a Flight IIA destroyer, equipped with the Aegis Combat System Baseline 9C2. This system delivers quick reaction time, high firepower, and increased electronic countermeasures capability against a variety of threats.

In addition to Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee, HII’s Pascagoula shipyard is also currently in production on future destroyers Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125), Ted Stevens (DDG 128), Jeremiah Denton (DDG 129), and George M. McNeal (DDG 131).

The Flight IIA Arleigh Burke destroyers have several new features including two hangars for antisubmarine warfare (ASW) helicopters, and a new, longer 5-inch/62-caliber (127 mm) Mark 45 Mod 4 naval gun.