Bath Iron Works (BIW) celebrated the start of fabrication of the future USS Daniel Inouye (DDG 118) during a ceremony at BIW shipyard, Oct. 31.
This first major ship milestone symbolizes that the first 100 tons of steel for the ship have been cut.
Capt. Mark Vandroff, DDG 51-class program manager, Program Executive Office (PEO) Ships, said:
Construction on Arleigh Burke-class (DDG 51) destroyers is in full swing on the East and Gulf Coasts.
The restart DDG 51s benefit from a mature and stable design with increased air and missile defense capabilities. These build on a legacy of success, providing outstanding combat capability and survivability characteristics.
The ceremony came just a day after BIW ceremoniously laid the keel for the future USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115), and a month following the start of fabrication on the future USS Paul Ignatius (DDG 117) at the Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi.
Daniel Inouye will be equipped with the Navy’s Aegis Combat System, the world’s foremost integrated naval weapon system. This system delivers quick reaction time, high firepower, and increased electronic countermeasures capability for anti-air warfare.
The ship is part of the Navy’s latest flight of destroyer, Flight IIA, which enables power projection, forward presence, and escort operations at sea in support of low intensity conflict/coastal and littoral offshore warfare as well as open-ocean conflict.
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Press release, Image: US Navy