Nichols Martin
Huntington Ingalls Industries has initiated “light off” of the first Flight III Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer the company is building for the U.S. Navy at a shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi.
HII said Wednesday the activity represents a milestone for Aegis combat system activation aboard the future USS Jack H. Lucas and marks the beginning of a system equipment test program.
The Navy works with HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Technologies on the Flight III upgrade effort.
Lockheed manufactured the Aegis weapon and Raytheon developed the AN/SPY-6(V)1 air and missile defense radar for the service branch’s next destroyer.
The DDG 51 ship will also incorporate electrical power and cooling capacity updates along with additional associated system modifications intended to support the fleet’s warfighting capability, according to the Navy.
