HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division announced yesterday that it has been awarded a multiyear contract from the Navy for the construction of six Arleigh Burke-class (DDG 51) guided missile destroyers.
The contract includes options for additional DDG 51 ships and for engineering, design, and post-delivery efforts. Due to potential competitions for the option ships, the cumulative dollar value of the multiyear contract will not be disclosed at this time, HII said.
“It is a privilege for our shipbuilders to build these ships in service of our Navy,” said Ingalls Shipbuilding President Kari Wilkinson. “We look forward to the years of stability that this award provides and the opportunity to continue working with our industry partners on this important class of ships.”
Ingalls has delivered 35 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers to the Navy including the first Flight III, USS Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125), in June. In addition, Ingalls has four Flight IIIs currently under construction including Ted Stevens (DDG 128), which is set to be christened this month. Additionally, Jeremiah Denton (DDG 129), George M. Neal (DDG 131) and Sam Nunn (DDG 133) are also under construction at Ingalls.
The flight III 509'x59' Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are powered by four General Electric LM 2500-30 gas turbines, producing 100,000 total hp, with a speed in excess of 30 knots. The destroyers have a capacity of 359 (41 officer, 27 CPO, 291 enlisted).
Each flight III destroyer incorporates a number of design modifications that collectively provide significantly enhanced capability. DDG 125 includes the AN/SPY-6(V)1 Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR) and the Aegis Baseline 10 Combat System that is required to keep pace with the threats well into the 21st century. Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are highly capable, multimission ships and can conduct a variety of operations, from peacetime presence and crisis management to sea control and power projection. Guided missile destroyers are capable of fighting multiple air, surface and subsurface threats simultaneously.
