The U.S. Navy has formally accepted delivery of the future USS Ted Stevens (DDG-128), a Flight III Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer.
The handover took place on 29 December at Pascagoula, Mississippi, following completion of a series of pier-side and at-sea trials intended to verify the ship’s performance across propulsion, combat systems, communications and navigation. With acceptance complete, DDG-128 will now move into the next phase of activation, including crew training and preparations for commissioning.
USS Ted Stevens was built by HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division and is the latest example of the Flight III configuration of the Arleigh Burke class. Flight III destroyers are designed to provide enhanced air and missile defence capability compared with earlier variants, primarily through the integration of the AN/SPY-6(V)1 Air and Missile Defence Radar. The U.S. Navy states that the class also incorporates significant upgrades to electrical power generation and cooling capacity to support the more demanding sensor and combat system suite.
Captain Jay Young, Arleigh Burke-class programme manager within Program Executive Office Ships, said the ship would make a tangible contribution to fleet capability. “The delivery of the future USS Ted Stevens will provide our Fleet with another critical warship with advanced capabilities,” he said. “DDG 128 will further strengthen our at-sea advantage and serve as an enduring reminder of the ship’s namesake and his dedicated service to our Nation.”
The destroyer is named in honour of Ted Stevens, the long-serving former U.S. senator from Alaska, who held office for four decades and was, during his tenure, the longest-serving Republican senator in U.S. history.
According to the U.S. Navy, Flight III destroyers are intended to remain a core element of surface combatant capability for decades, providing ballistic missile defence, air defence, anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare roles within carrier strike groups and independent deployments.
Ingalls Shipbuilding continues to produce additional Flight III destroyers for the Navy, with work underway on future ships including USS Jeremiah Denton (DDG-129), USS George M. Neal (DDG-131), USS Sam Nunn (DDG-133) and USS Thad Cochran (DDG-135). Program Executive Office Ships remains responsible for overseeing the development and procurement of U.S. Navy destroyers alongside a broader portfolio of surface and auxiliary vessels.