HII Ingalls Shipbuilding has launched the US Navy’s third Flight III Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, the future USS Jeremiah Denton (DDG 129).
Using railcars, the DDG 129 was transported from land to a dry dock, where it was floated before being guided toward the shipyard pier to undergo final outfitting, systems activation, and testing.
“The launch of DDG 129 is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our Ingalls shipbuilders and a collaborative achievement with our Navy partners,” Ingalls Shipbuilding DDG Program Manager Ben Barnett said.
The warship’s namesake was Jeremiah Denton Jr., a Vietnam War veteran awarded the Navy Cross as a prisoner of war and later elected US Senator representing Alabama in 1980.
Flight III Warships
In previous years, the US Navy ordered numerous Arleigh Burke-class destroyers in their Flight III variant — surface combatants with hull numbers DDG 125 and DDG 126, then DDG 128 and onwards.
DDG-127, the USS Patrick Gallagher, was skipped as it is a Flight IIA platform.
As multi-mission destroyers equipped with munitions and capabilities for anti-air, anti-surface, anti-submarine warfare, and ballistic missile defense, the Flight III version features Raytheon’s AN/SPY-6(V)1 air and missile defense radar and Lockheed Martin’s Aegis Baseline 10 combat system.
The first Flight III ship, USS Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125), was delivered to the service in June 2023 and commissioned in October of the same year.
Meanwhile, the rest of the advanced destroyers are undergoing construction at HII and General Dynamics subsidiary, Bath Iron Works.
Maintaining a large Arleigh Burke fleet enables the US to project power and counter adversaries in areas such as the South China Sea against China’s naval build-up.
