Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division has laid the keel for the US Navy’s future USS Jeremiah Denton guided missile destroyer (DDG 129).
The ceremony was held on August 16 at Ingall’s shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi.
The vessel is a Flight III Arleigh-Burke class destroyer named after former US senator and Vietnam War veteran Jeremiah Denton, Jr. His daughters, Madeline Denton Doak and Mary Denton Lewis, were co-sponsors of the ship.
“We are honored to build a ship named for the late Senator Denton and to have his family present to celebrate this important milestone on the path to delivering another Flight III destroyer to the Fleet,” Program Executive Office (PEO) Ships DDG 51 Class Manager Capt. Seth Miller said.
“The USS Jeremiah Denton is the Navy’s next great warship, which will provide power projection with the latest advanced combat capability.”
Future DDGs by Ingalls Shipbuilding
The shipbuilder will apply Flight III upgrades to DDG 129, covering the latest improvements from more than 30 years of the Arleigh-Burke class and legacy Flight I, II, and IIA ships.
The upgrade will focus on AN/SPY-6(V)1 Air and Missile Defense Radar, cooling capacity, and electrical power.
Ingalls Shipbuilding is currently working on the production of other future DDGs for the US Navy, including the USS Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee (DDG 123), USS Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125), USS Ted Stevens (DDG 128), USS George M. Neal (DDG 131).