America’s largest military shipbuilding company Huntington Ingalls Industries announced on Feb. 26 that its Ingalls Shipbuilding division has successfully completed the second builder’s sea trials of guided missile destroyer Delbert D. Black (DDG 119). The Arleigh Burke-class (DDG 51) destroyer spent more than three days in the Gulf of Mexico testing the ship’s main propulsion, combat and other ship systems. The ship was previously underway for Alpha trials in December and will be underway again in Mar. for Acceptance trials, which will be conducted by the U.S. Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey.
DDG 119 is the first ship named in honor of Navy veteran Delbert D. Black, who served as a gunner’s mate and was aboard the battleship USS Maryland (BB 46) during the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Delbert Black will be 513 feet long and 66 feet wide and with a displacement of approximately 9,200 tons. Its propulsion system will drive it to speeds in excess of 30 knots, and it will accommodate a crew size of 304 Sailors. The ship will use a gas-turbine propulsion plant and Integrated Power System. Delbert Black will make use of the latest technology and weapon systems. Delbert D. Black is configured as a Flight IIA destroyer and will be equipped with the Navy’s Aegis Combat System, the world’s foremost integrated naval weapon.
Ingalls has delivered 31 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers to the Navy. The shipyard currently has four DDGs under construction, including Delbert D. Black (DDG 119), Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG 121), Lenah H. Sutcliffe Higbee (DDG 123) and Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125) the first Flight III ship, which started fabrication in May 2018. Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are highly capable, multi-mission ships and can conduct a variety of operations, from peacetime presence and crisis management to sea control and power projection, all in support of the United States’ military strategy. The guided missile destroyers are capable of simultaneously fighting air, surface and subsurface battles.
Huntington Ingalls Industries is America’s largest military shipbuilding company and a provider of professional services to partners in government and industry. For more than a century, HII’s Newport News and Ingalls shipbuilding divisions in Virginia and Mississippi have built more ships in more ship classes than any other U.S. naval shipbuilder. HII’s Technical Solutions division supports national security missions around the globe with unmanned systems, defense and federal solutions, nuclear and environmental services, and fleet sustainment. Headquartered in Newport News, Virginia, HII employs more than 42,000 people operating both domestically and internationally.
