HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division has started fabrication of the future USS John F. Lehman (DDG 137), an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer.
The event signifies the formal start of construction on the US Navy’s latest Flight III vessel.
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This step comes after the implementation of HII’s distributed shipbuilding model, which shifts the manufacturing of major structural units from its principal site in Pascagoula to several partner yards located outside its usual labour market.
The programme for DDG 137 involves contributions from six shipbuilding partners across Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida.
These facilities are responsible for producing core structural components, a move intended to make use of available workforce and production capacities elsewhere. This, in turn, allows Ingalls Shipbuilding to concentrate on final assembly and integration at its Mississippi yard.
Ingalls Shipbuilding DDG 51 line programme manager Chris Brown said: “Our Ingalls shipbuilders have worked hard to reach fabrication start on DDG 137, and by focusing our teams and facilities on final assembly and integration, our distributed shipbuilding partners are enabling us to grow the Flight III fleet.
“We know the US Navy is counting on us to deliver highly capable ships, and this industry-wide effort is helping us meet that responsibility with urgency.”
The future USS John F. Lehman is the seventh Flight III destroyer undertaken by Ingalls.
Currently, Ingalls Shipbuilding is constructing five Flight III destroyers, with an additional seven vessels in earlier planning and procurement stages.
HII also plans to outsource more than 2.5m hours of shipbuilding work in 2026 as part of its distributed production approach, aiming to maintain and strengthen the resilience of the naval industrial base.
The Arleigh Burke class (DDG 51) is built entirely from steel and includes four distinct versions, known as “Flights.”
The initial Flight I includes DDG 51 through DDG 71, followed by Flight II with DDGs 72 to 78. Flight IIA covers DDGs 79 to 124 as well as DDG 127. The Flight III series starts with DDGs 125 and 126, then continues from DDG 128 onwards.
Designed as the next generation of surface combatants, Flight III destroyers are equipped with the AN/SPY-6(V)1 Air and Missile Defence Radar (AMDR) system and the Aegis Baseline 10 combat system, technologies developed to address evolving security requirements.
The AMDR offers improved performance over the prior Flight IIA variants, providing both anti-air warfare and ballistic missile defence capabilities to meet the Navy’s integrated air and missile defence needs.
Notable enhancements in Flight III vessels when compared to previous designs include hangars for two SH-60B/F LAMPS helicopters, larger flight decks, updated combat system software, the Evolved SeaSparrow missile, and the Kingfisher mine detection sonar system.
