Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) has started fabrication of the U.S. Navy's next Aegis guided missile destroyer, Ralph Johnson (DDG 114). The ship will be the 30th Arleigh Burke-class (DDG 51) destroyer built at the company's Ingalls Shipbuilding division, the shipbuilding group said in a press release.
The start-of-fabrication milestone signifies that 100 tons of steel have been cut for DDG 114. Ingalls uses state-of-the-art robotic cutting machines to ensure the steel is cut and fabricated to exact Navy specifications. Ralph Johnson is expected to be delivered in the first half of 2017.
DDG 114 is named to honor U.S. Marine Corps Pfc. Ralph Henry Johnson, who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions that saved others during the Vietnam War.
Ingalls is also building the destroyer John Finn (DDG 113). Construction began last September, and its keel laying is set for Nov. 4. John Finn is expected to be delivered to the Navy in the later part of 2016.
On June 3, Ingalls was awarded a $3.3 billion multi-year construction contract to build five more DDG 51 destroyers, ensuring Ingalls will build DDGs for the next decade. Upon delivery of the FY17 DDG, Ingalls will have built 35 of the ships.
To date, Ingalls has delivered 28 DDG 51 ships to the U.S. Navy. This highly capable, multi-mission ship 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. DDGs 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.
Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) designs, builds and maintains nuclear and non-nuclear ships for the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard and provides after-market services for military ships around the globe. For more than a century, HII has built more ships in more ship classes than any other U.S. naval shipbuilder at its Newport News Shipbuilding and Ingalls Shipbuilding divisions. Employing about 37,000 in Virginia, Mississippi, Louisiana and California, HII also provides a wide variety of products and services to the commercial energy industry and other government customers, including the Department of Energy.
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