Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine, has been awarded a contract to build the U.S. Navy’s next Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, DDG-149.
The future destroyer will be named after Robert R. Ingram, a Vietnam War veteran who received the Medal of Honor after sustaining multiple gunshot wounds while aiding wounded Marines during an ambush.
“This award is a testament to the highly skilled and hard-working men and women of BIW, and once again shows that ‘Bath Built is Best Built,’” Maine Sen. Susan Collins said in a statement. “The DDG-149 will strengthen our national security, support good-paying Maine jobs, and help provide long-term stability for the shipyard.”
BIW said the contract continues the yard’s role in delivering Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyers to the Navy fleet.
“We are proud to continue to deliver the most sophisticated surface combatants to the U.S. Navy fleet to protect our nation and our families,” the shipyard said. “We are actively driving our performance to deliver Bath-built quality to the fleet.”
The shipyard added that employee-driven production improvements are helping reduce construction timelines on Flight III destroyers.
“Our continued strategy of engaging our employees and incorporating their suggestions for shrinking the time needed to build an Arleigh Burke destroyer is delivering meaningful results for Flight III production,” BIW said.
The DDG-51 class serves as the Navy’s primary multi-mission surface combatant, capable of conducting anti-air, anti-submarine, anti-surface, and ballistic missile defense operations. The destroyers operate independently or as part of carrier strike groups, expeditionary strike groups, and surface action groups.
The Flight III configuration incorporates the AN/SPY-6(V)1 Air and Missile Defense Radar, which the Navy says provides significantly greater detection and tracking capability compared to earlier Flight IIA ships. The radar allows Flight III destroyers to simultaneously conduct ballistic missile defense and anti-air warfare missions.
According to the Navy, 74 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers have been delivered to the fleet, with another 25 ships under contract and 12 currently under construction. Earlier this year, HII Ingalls Shipbuilding launched the future USS George M. Neal (DDG 131), the fourth Flight III destroyer built at the yard.
