Huntington Ingalls Industries' Ingalls Shipbuilding division has begun fabrication of the future USS John F. Lehman, a flight III Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer ordered by the US Navy.
The destroyer will honour John F. Lehman, who had served as Secretary of the Navy under US President Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1987.
The 513-foot (156-metre) destroyer will be powered by four GE gas turbines that will deliver a speed of 31 knots. Armament will include a 127mm naval gun, 25mm autocannons, a 20mm close-in weapon system, torpedoes, surface-to-air missiles, and land attack cruise missiles.
As an Arleigh Burke-class flight III destroyer, the future John F. Lehman will have improved capability and capacity to perform anti-air warfare and ballistic missile defence in support of the integrated air and missile defence mission.
Arleigh Burke-class flight III destroyers will incorporate the AN/SPY-6(V)1 air and missile defence radar and upgrades to their respective electrical power and cooling capacities plus additional associated changes.
