Article Posted on : - Mar 20, 2014

USS William P. Lawrence (DDG 110). Photo: Huntington Ingalls Industries

PASCAGOULA, MISSISSIPPI (BNS): Huntington Ingalls Industries' Ingalls Shipbuilding division has received a $602 million contract modification to fund construction of the Arleigh Burke-class (DDG 51) guided missile destroyer DDG 119 for the U S Navy.

The yet-to-be-named ship is the second of five DDG 51 destroyers the company was awarded in June 2013.

The modification also includes an additional $79.4 million in advance procurement for future destroyers.

Ingalls has delivered 28 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers to the Navy and currently has two more under construction.

Ingalls laid the keel for John Finn (DDG 113) in November 2013 and will lay the keel for Ralph Johnson (DDG 114) in the third quarter of 2014.

Start of fabrication for Paul Ignatius (DDG 117), the first ship of the multi-year contract, will also take place in the third quarter of 2014.

Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are highly capable, multi-mission ships that can conduct a variety of operations, from peacetime presence and crisis management to sea control and power projection.

Destroyers are capable of simultaneously fighting air, surface and subsurface battles. The ship contains myriad offensive and defensive weapons designed to support maritime defence needs.