US Navy's destroyer USS Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee sails to Florida.

According to information published by HII on April 3, 2023, Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee (DDG 123) departed from HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division.
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Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee. (Picture source: HII)

DDG 123 will be commissioned next month at the Port of Key West in Key West, Florida, before sailing to its homeport in San Diego.

Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee is the 34th Arleigh Burke-class destroyer Ingalls has built for the U.S. Navy and is the final Flight IIA ship built at Ingalls as the Navy transitions to Flight III destroyers.

Ingalls currently has in production the future Arleigh Burke-class Flight III destroyers Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125), Ted Stevens (DDG 128), Jeremiah Denton (DDG 129), George M. Neal (DDG 131), and Sam Nunn (DDG 133).

The Flight III upgrade incorporates a number of design modifications that collectively provide significantly enhanced capability. The first Flight III ship will deliver to Navy later this year.

Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are highly capable, multi-mission ships that can conduct a variety of operations, from peacetime presence and crisis management to sea control and power projection, all in support of the national defense strategy.

Guided missile destroyers are capable of simultaneously fighting air, surface, and subsurface battles. These ships contain a myriad of offensive and defensive weapons designed to support maritime defense needs well into the 21st century.

Technical data

The destroyer has a displacement of 9,217 tons at full load and is 513 feet (156 meters) in length with a beam of 66 feet (20 meters). She is powered by four General Electric LM2500 gas turbines, which provide a total of 100,000 shaft horsepower, giving the ship a top speed of 31 knots (57 km/h, 36 mph). The ship has a complement of 380 officers and enlisted personnel.

The ship is armed with a variety of guns, including a 5-inch (127 mm)/62 Mk 45 Mod 4 lightweight gun, a 20 mm Phalanx CIWS, two 25 mm Mk 38 Machine Gun Systems, and four .50 caliber (12.7 mm) guns.

She also has missile capabilities, with a 32-cell and a 64-cell Mk 41 Vertical Launching System (VLS), which can launch various surface-to-air missiles, anti-ballistic missiles, and cruise missiles. The ship also has torpedoes capabilities with two Mark 32 triple torpedo tubes, which can launch various lightweight torpedoes.

In terms of aviation capabilities, the ship can carry two MH-60R Seahawk helicopters and has double hangar and helipad facilities.