Ingalls Shipbuilding launches Arleigh Burke Flight III-class guided-missile destroyer Ted Stevens for the U.S. Navy
Ingalls Shipbuilding, a subsidiary of Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), has announced the launch of the third Arleigh Burke-class destroyer in the Flight III modification. It is called Ted Stevens (DDG 128).
The destroyer is named in honor of Alaska Senator Ted Stevens, who was a pilot during World War II. This is the 76th ship of the Arleigh Burke class and the third in the Flight III modification.
Jeremiah Denton (DDG 129), George M. Neal (DDG 131) and Sam Nunn (DDG 133) are currently under construction. The first ship in the Flight III modification is called Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125). It was handed over to the US Navy in early summer 2023. In total, Ingalls built 35 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.
The Flight III modification brought several design modifications aimed at improving the ships’ capabilities. In particular, the DDG 125 received the AN/SPY-6(V)1 air and missile defense radar and the Aegis Baseline 10 combat system.
According to open source data, Ted Stevens (DDG 128) has two Mk 41 vertical launch systems for 32 and 64 cells. The destroyer will be able to launch RIM-66M, RIM-156, RIM-174A, RIM-161, RIM-162, RUM-139 and Tomahawk missiles.
