Kristen Smith 
HII Ingalls Shipbuilding has delivered the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Ted Stevens to the U.S. Navy, marking another milestone in the service’s Flight III surface combatant program. The ship is the second Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyer handed over by the shipbuilding division, HII said Tuesday.
What Capabilities Does Ted Stevens Bring to the Fleet?
Ted Stevens is equipped with the second-in-class AN/SPY-6(V)1 air and missile defense radar and the Aegis Baseline 10 combat system. HII described the Flight III vessel as the next generation of U.S. surface combatants.
“We are honored to deliver DDG 128 to the Navy knowing that it will stand as a powerful asset in strengthening U.S. maritime security for decades to come,” said Ingalls Shipbuilding President Brian Blanchette.
Its delivery follows a series of builder’s and acceptance trials completed in November, with final sea trials overseen by the Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey. During those demonstrations, Ingalls and Navy teams evaluated propulsion, combat, navigation and radar systems, validating the ship’s readiness ahead of acceptance and delivery.
What’s Next for the Flight III Program?
Ingalls Shipbuilding currently has four additional Flight III destroyers under construction—Jeremiah Denton, George M. Neal, Sam Nunn and Thad Cochran—with seven more in early pre-planning and material procurement stages. The yard has also adopted a distributed shipbuilding approach to increase throughput and meet the rising demand of the Navy.
Ingalls has already delivered 36 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers to the service branch.
