Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division officially started fabrication of the Arleigh Burke-class (DDG-51) destroyer USS Jack H. Lucas (DDG-125) on May 07, 2018. The start of fabrication signifies the first 100 tons of steel have been cut.
«The start of fabrication on a new destroyer is always exciting», Ingalls’ DDG-51 program manager George Nungesser said. «DDG-125 is no exception. Our shipbuilders have delivered 30 of these ships to the U.S. Navy and back-to-back building has allowed them to gain experience and talent that is unmatched in our industry. They are eager to use their skillset to incorporate the Navy’s Flight III modifications into DDG-125 and provide the Navy with yet another state-of-the-art ship».
USS Jack H. Lucas (DDG-125) will be the first «Flight III» ship in the Arleigh Burke- class of destroyers. Flight III will incorporate a new Advanced Missile Defense Radar (AMDR) that will replace the existing SPY-1 radar installed on the previous DDG-51 ships.
This is the first ship named to honor Captain Jack H. Lucas, who, at the age of 14, forged his mother’s signature to join the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves during World War II. Lucas, then a private first class in the Marine Corps, turned 17 just five days before the U.S. invasion of Iwo Jima and stowed away on USS Deuel (APA-160) to fight in the campaign. During a close firefight with Japanese forces, Lucas saved the lives of three fellow Marines when, after two enemy hand-grenades were thrown into a U.S. trench, he placed himself on one grenade while simultaneously pulling the other under his body. One of the grenades did not explode; the other exploded but only injured Lucas.
Lucas is the youngest Marine and the youngest service member in World War II to receive the Medal of Honor.
Jack H. Lucas is the fifth of five Arleigh Burke-class destroyers HII was awarded in June 2013. The five-ship contract, part of a multi-year procurement in the DDG-51 program, allows Ingalls to build ships more efficiently by buying bulk material and moving the skilled workforce from ship to ship.
Ingalls has delivered 30 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers to the U.S. Navy. Other destroyers currently under construction at Ingalls include, USS Paul Ignatius (DDG-117), USS Delbert D. Black (DDG-119), USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG-121) and USS Lenah H. Sutcliffe Higbee (DDG-123).
Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are highly capable, multi-mission ships and 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. The 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.
Ship Characteristics
| Length Overall | 510 feet/156 m |
| Beam – Waterline | 59 feet/18 m |
| Draft | 30.5 feet/9.3 m |
| Displacement – Full Load | 9,217 tons/9,363 metric tons |
| Power Plant | 4 General electric LM 2500-30 gas turbines; 2 shafts; 2 CRP (Contra-Rotating) propellers; 100,000 shaft horsepower/75,000 kW |
| Speed | in excess of 30 knots/34.5 mph/55.5 km/h |
| Range | 4,400 NM/8,149 km at 20 knots/23 mph/37 km/h |
| Crew | 380 total: 32 Officers, 27 CPO (Chief Petty Officer), 321 OEM |
| Surveillance | AN/SPY-6 Air and Missile Defense Radar (Raytheon Company) and Aegis Combat System (Lockheed Martin); SPS-73(V) Navigation; SPS-67(V)3 Surface Search; 3 SPG-62 Illuminator; SQQ-89(V)6 sonar incorporating SQS-53C hull mounted and SQR-19 towed array sonars used with Mark-116 Mod 7 ASW fire control system |
| Electronics/Countermeasures | SLQ-32(V)3; Mark-53 Mod 0 Decoy System; Mark-234 Decoy System; SLQ-25A Torpedo Decoy; SLQ-39 Surface Decoy; URN-25 TACAN; UPX-29 IFF System; Kollmorgen Mark-46 Mod 1 Electro-Optical Director |
| Aircraft | 2 embarked SH-60 helicopters ASW operations; RAST (Recovery Assist, Secure and Traverse) |
| Armament | 2 Mark-41 Vertical Launching System (VLS) with 90 Standard, Vertical Launch ASROC (Anti-Submarine Rocket) & Tomahawk ASM (Air-to-Surface Missile)/LAM (Loitering Attack Missile); 5-in (127-mm)/54 (62) Mark-45 gun; 2 (1) CIWS (Close-In Weapon System); 2 Mark-32 triple 324-mm torpedo tubes for Mark-46 or Mark-50 ASW torpedos |
Guided Missile Destroyers Lineup
Flight III
| Ship | Yard | Launched | Commissioned | Homeport |
| DDG-125 Jack H. Lucas | HIIIS | |||
| DDG-126 Louis H. Wilson, Jr. | GDBIW |