U.S. Navy to Receive New Flight III Arleigh Burke-class Destroyer USS Ted Stevens for Missile Defense.

The U.S. Navy’s newest Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, USS Ted Stevens (DDG 128), departed HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding yard on May 8, 2026, for Norfolk ahead of future commissioning ceremonies in Alaska, marking another step in expanding America’s next-generation missile defense fleet. Built to counter hypersonic weapons, ballistic missile threats, and increasingly contested naval environments, the warship strengthens the Navy’s ability to project air and missile defense power across the Indo-Pacific and other high-risk maritime theaters.

As one of the most advanced Arleigh Burke-class destroyers ever delivered, USS Ted Stevens is equipped with the AN/SPY-6(V)1 radar and enhanced combat systems designed to detect and engage multiple advanced threats simultaneously. The ship’s arrival reinforces the Navy’s push toward more survivable and networked surface combatants capable of supporting high-end naval warfare, integrated air defense, and long-range deterrence operations against near-peer adversaries.

Related Topic: US Navy awards Bath Iron Works contract for 21st Flight III Arleigh Burke destroyer USS Robert R. Ingram

The U.S. Navy’s newest Flight III Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Ted Stevens (DDG 128) departs HII Ingalls Shipbuilding on May 8, 2026, beginning its transit to Norfolk, Virginia, ahead of commissioning in Whittier, Alaska, as one of the Navy’s most advanced air and missile defense warships. (Picture source: HII)

HII (Huntington Ingalls Industries) confirmed that Ted Stevens is the second Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyer delivered by Ingalls Shipbuilding and follows USS Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125), the lead Flight III ship commissioned in 2023. The departure of DDG 128 reflects accelerating production momentum within the U.S. Navy’s destroyer modernization program at a time when Washington is prioritizing naval readiness and fleet expansion in response to growing Chinese and Russian maritime capabilities.

“The sail-away of Ted Stevens reflects the strong momentum of our Flight III destroyer deliveries and the team’s work to deliver the most capable and combat-ready ships to the fleet,” said Chris Brown, Ingalls Shipbuilding DDG 51 program manager. “Seeing DDG 128 depart Ingalls is a proud moment for us all, and we are honored to support the Navy with a ship that will strengthen U.S. maritime security for decades to come.”

The Flight III configuration represents the most advanced evolution of the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer family, which remains the backbone of the U.S. Navy’s surface warfare fleet. While retaining the proven hull design of previous variants, Flight III destroyers incorporate major technological upgrades centered on radar capability, combat system integration, and power generation capacity.

At the core of DDG 128’s enhanced combat capability is the AN/SPY-6(V)1 Air and Missile Defense Radar developed by Raytheon. This next-generation active electronically scanned array radar dramatically increases sensitivity, target discrimination, and tracking performance compared to the legacy SPY-1 radar carried by earlier Arleigh Burke destroyers. The system enables simultaneous defense against ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, hypersonic threats, unmanned aerial systems, and advanced aircraft operating in dense electronic warfare environments.

The SPY-6 radar integrates directly with the Aegis Baseline 10 combat management system, providing expanded sensor fusion, enhanced battle management, and greater interoperability with joint and allied naval forces. Baseline 10 also improves distributed maritime operations capability by enabling faster processing of multi-domain threat data and more effective coordination across carrier strike groups and integrated air and missile defense networks.

Operationally, Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are designed to support the Navy’s growing focus on high-end naval warfare in the Indo-Pacific. The combination of long-range missile defense, anti-air warfare, anti-submarine warfare, and surface strike capability allows these ships to operate as central nodes within distributed fleet formations. In a potential conflict scenario involving peer adversaries, Flight III destroyers are expected to play a critical role in protecting carrier strike groups, amphibious forces, and forward-deployed naval assets from saturation missile attacks.

Compared to earlier Flight IIA variants, Flight III destroyers also feature significant upgrades to electrical generation and cooling systems required to support the power demands of advanced radar and future directed-energy weapons. These modifications position the class for long-term relevance as the Navy pursues laser weapons, electronic warfare systems, and next-generation interceptors expected to emerge over the coming decades.

The departure of Ted Stevens also highlights the growing industrial pressure on America’s naval shipbuilding sector. Ingalls Shipbuilding is currently building five additional Flight III destroyers, including Jeremiah Denton (DDG 129), George M. Neal (DDG 131), Sam Nunn (DDG 133), Thad Cochran (DDG 135), and John F. Lehman (DDG 137). Seven more destroyers remain in pre-planning and material procurement phases, demonstrating the long-term strategic commitment to the DDG 51 production line.

To sustain production rates and meet Navy fleet expansion goals, HII is aggressively restructuring its industrial model through a distributed shipbuilding initiative. The strategy relies on expanding partnerships with external fabrication yards and assembly companies beyond the company’s traditional Gulf Coast labor market. By decentralizing portions of structural fabrication and pre-assembly work, Ingalls aims to reduce production bottlenecks, improve schedule predictability, and compensate for persistent workforce shortages affecting the U.S. shipbuilding industry.

HII plans to outsource more than 2.5 million labor hours of shipbuilding work during 2026 while increasing the role of external assembly partners capable of delivering completed structural modules ready for integration at Ingalls facilities. This approach reflects broader Pentagon concerns regarding the limited capacity of the American defense industrial base to rapidly scale naval production during prolonged high-intensity conflict.

The strategic importance of the Flight III program has increased significantly as the U.S. Navy confronts expanding Chinese naval modernization. China continues to rapidly field advanced Type 052D and Type 055 surface combatants equipped with sophisticated missile systems and integrated air defense capabilities. Flight III destroyers provide the U.S. Navy with a critical technological response designed to maintain qualitative superiority in radar performance, missile defense integration, and multi-domain combat operations.

The naming of DDG 128 honors former U.S. Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska, one of the longest-serving Republican senators in U.S. history and a major advocate for American defense spending and military modernization. The ship’s future commissioning in Whittier, Alaska, also carries symbolic significance as the Pentagon increases strategic attention toward Arctic operations, northern maritime routes, and great power competition in polar regions.

With 36 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers delivered to date by Ingalls Shipbuilding alone, the DDG 51 program remains one of the most successful and enduring warship production efforts in modern naval history. The continued expansion of Flight III production demonstrates that, despite ongoing development of future large surface combatant concepts, the U.S. Navy still considers the upgraded Arleigh Burke design essential for maintaining operational readiness and maritime deterrence well into the 2030s and beyond.

Written by Alain Servaes – Chief Editor, Army Recognition Group
Alain Servaes is a former infantry non-commissioned officer and the founder of Army Recognition. With over 20 years in defense journalism, he provides expert analysis on military equipment, NATO operations, and the global defense industry.