Ingalls Shipbuilding delivers DDG 117

(Left to right) Cmdr. Robby Trotter, Cmdr. Scott Williams and Donny Dorsey sign the delivery document officially handing ownership of the destroyer Paul Ignatius (DDG 17) from Ingalls Shipbuilding to the U.S. Navy. Trotter is the ship’s prospective commanding officer; Williams is the DDG 51 program management representative for Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Gulf Coast; and Dorsey is Ingalls’ DDG 117 ship program manager. Photo by Derek Fountain/HII

The Navy accepted delivery of the future guided missile destroyer USS Paul Ignatius (DDG 117) from Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Ingalls shipbuilding division, Feb. 22.

Accepting delivery of DDG 117 represents the official transfer of the ship from the shipbuilder to the Navy. Prior to delivery, the ship conducted a series of at-sea and pier-side trials to demonstrate its material and operational readiness.

The 67th Arleigh Burke class destroyer honors Paul Robert Ignatius, who served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, as Secretary of the Navy from 1967- 1969, and as Assistant Secretary of Defense during the Lyndon B. Johnson administration.

“Our industry partners have delivered another highly capable platform that will provide our sailors and nation with warfighting lethality for the next four decades.” said Capt. Casey Moton, DDG 51 class program manager, Program Executive Office (PEO) Ships. “We are proud to accept delivery of Paul Ignatius and look forward to her Commissioning ceremony later this summer.”

“This event is the culmination of hard work and dedication by thousands of shipbuilders, industry partners from nearly every state, as well as our Navy SUPSHIP Gulf Coast shipmates who worked with us each and every day to ensure DDG 117 became a mission-capable ship,” said George Nungesser, Ingalls’ DDG program manager. “Today, we deliver DDG 117 to the U.S. Navy—our 31st time to do this with an Aegis destroyer and well over our 80th time to deliver a Navy surface combatant on the banks of the Pascagoula River. It’s an honor to be a part of this great tradition.”

The DDG 51 class ships currently being constructed are Aegis Baseline 9 Integrated Air and Missile Defense destroyers with increased computing power and radar upgrades that improve detection and reaction capabilities against modern air warfare and ballistic missile defense threats.

In addition to Paul Ignatius, HII’s Pascagoula shipyard is also currently in production on the future destroyers Delbert D. Black (DDG 119), Frank E.Peterson Jr. (DDG 121), Lenah H. Sutcliffe Higbee (DDG 123) and Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125), the first Flight III ship. HII is under contract for an additional six Arleigh Burke class destroyers, awarded as part of the FY 2018-2022 multiyear procurement, that will be constructed in the Flight III configuration with enhanced air and missile defense capabilities.