Mary-Louise Hoffman
A General Dynamics subsidiary has begun work to build two Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer ships for the U.S. Navy.
Bath Iron Works laid the keel for the USS Rafael Peralta at a ceremony held Thursday at its Bath, Maine shipyard, General Dynamics said Thursday.
The U.S. Navy named the destroyer after Sgt. Rafael Peralta, a Marine killed in combat during the 2004 Operation Phantom Fury in Iraq.
Bath Iron Works also celebrated the start of construction work on USS Daniel Inouye on Friday at the company’s Hardings manufacturing site in Brunswick.
The ship is named for the late Democratic Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii, a World War II veteran and a Medal of Honor recipient.
Each Arleigh Burke-class destroyer is designed with an Aegis weapon system, a vertical launching platform, two embarked Seahawk helicopters, anti-aircraft and anti-submarine warfare systems and Tomahawk missiles.
