Northrop Grumman Corporation's Ship Systems sector has begun construction of
DDG 100, the 50th ship in the DDG 51-class of Aegis destroyers.
"This is an occasion of tremendous significance," said Dr. Philip A. Dur, Northrop Grumman corporate vice president and president
of the company's Ship Systems sector, at a recent ceremony held at the
company's Ingalls Operations here. "Northrop Grumman Corporation and
its Ship Systems sector are proud of the relationship built with the
Navy through the life of the DDG 51 program. This milestone event is
built on cooperation, service and dedication to providing the Navy with
the best surface combatant America can build."
The company has delivered 17 Aegis destroyers to the Navy
to-date, with delivery of the 18th set for Feb. 28.
"The start of construction on DDG 100 represents many things,"
said Capt. Phil Johnson, USN, supervisor of shipbuilding, conversion
and repair, Pascagoula. "The contractor continues to do an excellent
job of building these ships and of recognizing the need to provide this
type of surface combatant to the Navy as an important feature of our
forces."
Also on hand for the ceremony was Rear Adm. Curtis Kemp, USN,
president of the Navy's Board of Inspection and Survey. Kemp sailed on
two Northrop Grumman-built destroyers during his career - USS Fife (DD
991), a Spruance-class destroyer, and USS Parsons (DDG 33), a modified
Forrest Sherman-class ship.
"The Aegis destroyers of today are such a marked contrast to
the ships that I started on," Kemp said. "We're talking about the
difference in going from the basics of a train to a modern-day rocket
ship. The technology that will be in DDG 100 will be another quantum
leap from that. We're going in the right direction and it's very
impressive what Northrop Grumman Ship Systems is doing here."