Navy Cancels DDG-1000 Destroyer Program
The Secretary of the Navy informed members of the Senate and House of its plans to cancel the $29b DDG-1000 program after completion of the first two ships, one of which is scheduled to be completed at Bath Iron Works. Assembly work on the guided-missile destroyers was to have been divided between the 124-year-old shipyard, owned by General Dynamics Corp., and a yard in . Cancellation of the 14,000-ton, Zumwalt-class destroyer after just two ships were funded, was made public by Maine's two Republican senators, Olympia J. Snowe and Susan M. Collins, and US Representative Thomas H.
Navy Commissions Newest Destroyer
The newest Arleigh Burke class guided-missile destroyer, Mason, was commissioned on Saturday, April 12 at a ceremony in Port Canaveral, Fla. She will be homeported in Norfolk, Va., with a crew of 365 officers and enlisted personnel. Cmdr. David Gale of Lebanon, N.Y., will become Mason's first commanding officer. The assistant secretary of the Navy for Financial Management and Comptroller Dional M. Aviles delivered the ceremony's principal address. Sen. Olympia J. Snowe of Maine served as the ship sponsor. Mason is the 21st Arleigh Burke class ship built by Bath Iron Works. The ship measures 510 ft., with an overall beam of 59 ft., and a navigational draft of 30 ft. Four gas-turbine engines power the 9,200-ton ship to speeds in excess of 30 knots.