The Navy’s newest guided-missile destroyer, the USS Delbert D. Black, departed Huntington Ingalls Industries’ shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi, Friday en route to its homeport in Mayport, Florida.
The ship is named after the first master chief petty officer of the Navy.
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The Navy took delivery of the destroyer in April from Huntington Ingalls’ shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi.
The destroyer was damaged in an accident in 2019 when a Norwegian-flagged vessel struck a barge that subsequently struck the ship, causing delays to the construction and about $31 million in damage.
“Our shipbuilders have done an excellent job throughout the construction of Delbert D. Black, preparing the new Aegis destroyer to join the Navy’s fleet,” said Brian Cuccias, Ingalls Shipbuilding president, in a company news release. “Today we celebrate the continued monumental achievements of our shipbuilders with great pride, and we look forward to continuing to build state-of-the-art Navy destroyers for years to come.”
Ingalls has four more under construction: the Frank E. Petersen Jr., DDG 121; the Lenah H. Sutcliffe Higbee, DDG 123; the Jack H. Lucas, DDG 125; and the Ted Stevens, DDG 128, according to the news release.
In June, Ingalls was awarded a $936 million contract for the construction of an additional Arleigh Burke-class destroyer.
The multi-mission ships can conduct a variety of operations, from peacetime presence and crisis management to sea control and power projection, according to the news release. Guided-missile destroyers 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, the release stated.
