Keel laid on first Flight III destroyer

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - In a historic milestone for the Arleigh Burke-class DDG 51 program, the keel of the first Flight III destroyer, the future USS Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125), was ceremoniously laid and authenticated here at the Huntington Ingalls Shipyard on Nov. 7. Ruby Lucas and Catherine B. Reynolds, ship sponsors, authenticated the keel by etching their initials into the keel plate. The official start of fabrication began in May 2018. The destroyer was named after an American hero, Medal of Honor recipient Jack Lucas. DDG 125 will be the first Arleigh Burke class destroyer built in the Flight III configuration. Flight III’s design contains modifications from earlier DDG 51 class ships to enable the SPY-6 radar, in association with Aegis Baseline 10, which includes larger electronically scanned arrays and the power generation and cooling equipment required to operate the powerful new radar. HII-Pascagoula's shipyard is also currently in production on the guided missile destroyers Delbert D. Black (DDG 119), Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG 121), and Lenah H. Sutcliffe Higbee (DDG 123), amphibious assault ships Tripoli (LHA 7) and Bougainville (LHA 8), and amphibious transport dock ships Fort Lauderdale (LPD 28) and Richard M. McCool Jr. (LPD 29). (Source: Team Ships 11/08/19)