The US Navy has accepted the delivery of the Arleigh Burke-class Flight IIA guided-missile destroyer, the future USS Frank E Petersen Jr (DDG 121).
The service received the destroyer’s delivery from the Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division on 30 November.
Go deeper with GlobalData
In September this year, the destroyer successfully completed acceptance trials after spending two days at sea for the final round of trials.
The destroyer has been named in honour of US Marine Corps’ (USMC) first African American aviator and officer, lieutenant general Frank E Petersen Jr.
DDG 121 is the 71st Arleigh Burke-class destroyer and the fifth in a fleet of 21 DDG-51 vessels currently under contract for the US Navy.
The destroyer was christened in October 2018.
It features the Aegis Baseline 9C2 combat system and includes Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) capability and improved Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) capabilities.
US Navy Program Executive Office (PEO) Ships DDG 51 class programme manager captain Seth Miller said: “DDG 121 brings critical readiness to the fleet to ensure our sailors are postured for success today and in the future.
“The ship will honour the legacy of its namesake and provide the needed capability and capacity to the fleet.”
Ingalls Shipbuilding division is also working on the Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee (DDG 123), Ted Stevens (DDG 128), Jack H Lucas (DDG 125) and Jeremiah Denton (DDG 129) destroyers.
