PASCAGOULA, Miss., Sept. 13, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE: HII ) has started fabrication of the U.S. Navy's next Aegis guided missile destroyer, Ralph Johnson (DDG 114). The ship will be the 30 th Arleigh Burke -class (DDG 51) destroyer built at the company's Ingalls Shipbuilding division.
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"The DDG 51 program continues to be a model of success for our company," said DDG 51 Program Manager George Nungesser. "We have talented, experienced shipbuilders working on this program, and they have provided excellent quality on Aegis destroyers since the program's inception."
The start-of-fabrication milestone signifies that 100 tons of steel have been cut for DDG 114. Ingalls uses state-of-the-art robotic cutting machines to ensure the steel is cut and fabricated to exact Navy specifications. Ralph Johnson is expected to be delivered in the first half of 2017.
Georgeann McRaven, the ship's sponsor, visited Ingalls to observe a special start-of-fabrication ceremony. She is wife of U.S. Navy Adm. William McRaven, commander, U.S. Special Operations Command.
"It was just fantastic, and I learned so much about shipbuilding," Mrs. McRaven said. "It was nice to meet so many shipbuilders. They're all so dedicated to their jobs and proud of what they do. I feel like they're serving in the military as well because they're building great ships for us."
DDG 114 is named to honor U.S. Marine Corps Pfc. Ralph Henry Johnson, who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions that saved others during the Vietnam War. Johnson shouted a warning to his fellow Marines and hurled himself on an explosive device, saving the life of one Marine and preventing the enemy from penetrating his sector of the patrol's perimeter. Johnson died instantly. The Charleston, S.C., native had only been in Vietnam for two months and a few days when he was killed, at the age of 20.
On April 20, 1970, President Richard M. Nixon posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, the highest recognition and honor a member of the United States military can receive. On Sept. 5, 1991, 23 years after his heroic act, the Veterans Hospital in Charleston was renamed the Ralph H. Johnson Veterans Hospital.
Ingalls is also building the destroyer John Finn (DDG 113). Construction began last September, and its keel laying is set for Nov. 4. John Finn is expected to be delivered to the Navy in the later part of 2016.
On June 3, Ingalls was awarded a $3.3 billion multi-year construction contract to build five more DDG 51 destroyers, ensuring Ingalls will build DDGs for the next decade. Upon delivery of the FY17 DDG, Ingalls will have built 35 of the ships.
To date, Ingalls has delivered 28 DDG 51 ships to the U.S. Navy. This highly capable, multi-mission ship 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. DDGs are capable of simultaneously fighting air, surface and subsurface battles. The ship contains myriad offensive and defensive weapons designed to support maritime defense needs well into the 21st century.
Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) designs, builds and maintains nuclear and non-nuclear ships for the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard and provides after-market services for military ships around the globe. For more than a century, HII has built more ships in more ship classes than any other U.S. naval shipbuilder at its Newport News Shipbuilding and Ingalls Shipbuilding divisions. Employing about 37,000 in Virginia, Mississippi, Louisiana and California, HII also provides a wide variety of products and services to the commercial energy industry and other government customers, including the Department of Energy. For more information about HII, visit:
- HII on the web: www.huntingtoningalls.com
- HII on Facebook: www.facebook.com/HuntingtonIngallsIndustries
- HII on Twitter: twitter.com/hiindustries
Statements in this release, other than statements of historical fact, constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed in these statements. Factors that may cause such differences include: changes in government and customer priorities and requirements (including government budgetary constraints, shifts in defense spending, and changes in customer short-range and long-range plans); our ability to obtain new contracts, estimate our costs and perform effectively; risks related to our spin-off from Northrop Grumman (including our increased costs and leverage); our ability to realize the expected benefits from consolidation of our Gulf Coast facilities; natural disasters; adverse economic conditions in the United States and globally; and other risk factors discussed in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. There may be other risks and uncertainties that we are unable to predict at this time or that we currently do not expect to have a material adverse effect on our business, and we undertake no obligations to update any forward-looking statements.
CONTACT: Bill Glenn William.glenn@hii-co.com (228) 327-1671
