The U.S. Navy accepted delivery of the future guided missile destroyer USS Carl M. Levin (DDG 120) from General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, January 26. Delivery represents the official transfer of the ship from the shipbuilder to the U.S. Navy. Prior to delivery, the ship conducted a series of at-sea and pier-side trials to demonstrate its materiel and operational readiness. The shipyard is also in production on future destroyers John Basilone (DDG 122), Harvey C. Barnum Jr. (DDG 124), Patrick Gallagher (DDG 127), Louis H. Wilson Jr. (DDG 126), William Charette (DDG 130), and Quentin Walsh (DDG 132).
“Delivery of this ship will provide critical capacity to our surface fleet today and well into the future. All who serve aboard DDG 120 will be a reflection of Sen. Carl M. Levin’s commitment to our Nation through service,” said Capt. Seth Miller, DDG 51 program manager, Program Executive Office (PEO) Ships.
The contract for the ship, along with the name, was first announced in a press release from General Dynamics, parent company of Bath Iron Works, on 31 March 2016. The official designation of DDG-120 as Carl M. Levin by Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus was announced on 11 April 2016. On 2 October 2021, Carl M. Levin was christened at the Bath Iron Works shipyard in Bath, Maine. She is the 42nd Flight IIA ship, and the fifth of the “technology insertion” (TI) builds with elements of the follow-on Flight III series. She is fitted with the Aegis Combat System baseline 9 which includes integrated air and missile defense capability.
A Flight IIA destroyer, DDG 120 is equipped with the latest Aegis Combat System. The Aegis Combat System provides large area defense coverage against air and ballistic missile targets, and also delivers superior processing of complex sensor data to allow for quick-reaction decision making, high firepower, and improved electronic warfare capability against a variety of threats. As one of the Defense Department’s largest acquisition organizations, PEO Ships is responsible for executing the development and procurement of all destroyers, amphibious ships, special mission and support ships, boats and craft.
