Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) has delivered the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer Ted Stevens (DDG 128) to the U.S. Navy from its Ingalls Shipbuilding yard in Pascagoula, Mississippi. The handover marks another milestone in the Navy’s ongoing surface fleet modernization effort and supports expanded production of Flight III destroyers as maritime competition intensifies globally.
According to HII, the delivery of DDG 128 underscores growing momentum within the Flight III program, which is designed to introduce enhanced air and missile defense capabilities to the fleet. Ingalls Shipbuilding President Brian Blanchette said the delivery reflects accelerating production efficiency and the company’s commitment to providing the Navy with advanced surface combatants capable of meeting future operational demands.
The Arleigh Burke-class remains the longest-running destroyer program in U.S. Navy history, with more than 80 ships delivered, under construction, or planned. Flight III variants represent a significant technological leap, integrating upgraded power generation, cooling capacity, and combat systems to support next-generation sensors and weapons while maintaining the class’s proven multi-mission profile across air, surface, subsurface, and ballistic missile defense roles.
At the core of the Flight III upgrade is the AN/SPY-6(V)1 Air and Missile Defense Radar, paired with the Aegis Baseline 10 Combat System. Built using gallium nitride technology, SPY-6 provides dramatically improved detection range, sensitivity, and tracking performance compared to earlier radars. This configuration enables destroyers like Ted Stevens to operate as theater-level air and missile defense nodes, significantly enhancing U.S. Navy lethality, survivability, and situational awareness in contested maritime environments.
