Ingalls Shipbuilding has begun fabrication of the US Navy’s future Arleigh Burke-class (DDG 51) destroyer, the USS Sam Nunn (DDG 133).
The ceremony launches the overall construction of the ship, with the first 100-ton steel cut prepared at the company’s facility in Pascagoula, Mississippi.
Once completed, Sam Nunn will be the 83rd destroyer of its class to be integrated into the service.
The ship will be used for multi-domain operations and ensure that the US military strategy will comprise both offensive and defensive capabilities to match evolving threats.
“Our shipbuilders are very proud of our DDG 51 production line work,” Ingalls Shipbuilding DDG 51 Program Manager John Fillmore stated.
“Starting another Flight III destroyer gives Ingalls and all of our Navy and industry partners the opportunity to share years of knowledge and best practices as together we continue to build this most capable platform for our nation.”
“Our continued collaboration has become the hallmark of this program.”
The USS Sam Nunn
The USS Sam Nunn was named after the senator from Georgia between 1972 and 1997. Before his career in politics, Nunn was in the US Coast Guard from 1958 to 1960.
The 510-foot (160-meter) destroyer will have a 66-foot (20-meter) beam. It has a maximum speed of more than 30 knots (56 kilometers/35 miles per hour).
The vessel will be integrated with lightweight guns, machine guns, anti-ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and lightweight torpedoes. It can also carry two MH-60R Seahawk choppers on deck.
