Construction begins on future US Navy destroyer Louis H. Wilson Jr.

By Baird Maritime - March 8, 2020.

*The US Navy destroyer USS Arleigh Burke in 2013 (Photo: US Navy/Petty Officer 1st Class RJ Stratchko)*

Construction of the future US Navy destroyer USS Louis H. Wilson Jr. officially began with a keel-laying ceremony at General Dynamics Bath Iron Works (GDBIW) on Tuesday, March 3.

The future Louis H. Wilson Jr. will be the first Arleigh Burke-class destroyer built in the Flight III configuration at Bath Iron Works. Flight III destroyers will have improved capability and capacity to perform anti-air warfare and ballistic missile defense in support of the integrated air and missile defence mission.

The ship will honour the late US Marine Corps General Louis Hugh Wilson, Jr., who was awarded the Medal of Honor for actions in the Battle of Guam in 1944. General Wilson later became commandant of the US Marine Corps.