HII Delivers Guided Missile Destroyer Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG 121) to U.S. Navy

Huntington Ingalls Industries delivered the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG 121) to the U.S. Navy during a signing ceremony held on Tuesday, Nov. 30. This milestone officially transfers custody from HII to the U.S. Navy, the company announced.

“I am again very proud of our DDG team today,” said Kari Wilkinson, Ingalls Shipbuilding president. “Not only have they completed another major program milestone, but they have done so in the face of a pandemic. This team, and all of our shipbuilders across our entire portfolio, are what shipbuilding is all about.”

Delivery of DDG 121 marked the 33rd destroyer Ingalls has built for Navy, with four more currently under construction, including Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee (DDG 123), Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125), Ted Stevens (DDG 128), and Jeremiah Denton (DDG 12

Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are highly capable, multi-mission ships and can conduct a variety of operations, from peacetime presence and crisis management to sea control and power projection, all in support of the United States military strategy. Guided-missile destroyers are capable of simultaneously fighting air, surface, and subsurface battles. The ship contains myriad offensive and defensive weapons designed to support maritime defense needs well into the 21st century.

DDG 121 is named for Frank E. Petersen Jr., who was the U.S. Marine Corps’ first African-American aviator and general officer. After entering the Naval Aviation Cadet Program in 1950, Petersen would go on to fly more than 350 combat missions during the Korean and Vietnam wars.

Check out Naval Library App to find out more about the specifications of the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.