PASCAGOULA, Miss. — Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding division successfully completed builder’s trials for guided missile destroyer Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG 121), the company announced in an Aug. 27, 2021, release. The Arleigh Burke-class destroyer spent three days in the Gulf of Mexico testing the ship’s combat system, which included firing a missile.
“Ingalls, Navy AEGIS Test Team, the Navy ship’s force, the program office, numerous combat systems participating acquisition managers, and supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion and Repair worked together to ensure a successful builder’s trial,” said John Fillmore, Ingalls’ DDG 51 program manager. “A successful builder’s trial sets us up for a final trial prior to delivery. We are proud of the work our shipbuilders have accomplished so far and look forward to finishing strong.”
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.
Ingalls has delivered 32 destroyers to the Navy and currently has four more under construction including Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee (DDG 123), Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125), Ted Stevens (DDG 128) and Jeremiah Denton (DDG 129).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. The guided missile destroyers are capable of simultaneously fighting air, surface and subsurface battles. The ship contains a myriad of offensive and defensive weapons designed to support maritime defense well into the 21st century.
