Ingalls Shipbuilding delivers first Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyer

Ingalls Shipbuilding today delivered the first Flight III Arleigh Burke-class warship, the Jack H. Lucas (DDG-125), to the Navy, marking an important milestone for the newest variant of the Navy's workhorse destroyer line.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Modern Day Marine conference, George Nungesser, vice president of program management at Ingalls Shipbuilding, confirmed the ship’s delivery took place earlier in the day at the company’s Pascagoula, MS shipyard.

Flight III ships are equipped with SPY-6 radar plus an upgraded combat system and are intended to provide enhanced air and missile defense capabilities as well as electrical power and cooling enhancements compared to the Flight II design.

Ingalls, a division of HII, conducted four sea trials to demonstrate the ship’s requirements and capabilities prior to delivery, Nungesser said.

“The upcoming events to a delivery to the United States Navy is essentially demonstrating the ship at sea. So, on DDG-125 with a new combat system and new SPY-6 radar, we had four trials at sea to demonstrate the requirements of the ship and the mission capability of the ship,” he explained.

The ship’s crew will “move aboard” in the coming weeks, Nungesser continued, but DDG-125 will remain at Ingalls’ shipyard for another 120 days as the Navy and shipbuilder conduct additional assessments and certifications.