The U.S. Navy christened the newest guided-missile destroyer, the future USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG-121) Saturday, October 6, during a 10:00 a.m. CDT ceremony at Huntington Ingalls Industries shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi.

The future USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG-121) is the first ship named in honor of Marine Corps Lieutenant General Frank E. Petersen Jr., the first African-American Marine Corps aviator and the first African-American Marine Corps officer promoted to brigadier general. When he retired in 1988 after 38 years of service, he was, by date of designation, the senior-ranking aviator in the Marine Corps and the United States Navy.

At the ceremony, the principal speaker was General Alfred Gray, 29th Commandant of the Marine Corps. D’Arcy Neller, wife of General Robert Neller, Commandant of the Marine Corps, and Dr. Alicia J. Petersen, widow of Frank E. Petersen Jr., served as ship’s sponsors. In a time-honored Navy tradition, the two sponsors christened the ship by breaking a bottle of sparkling wine across the bow.

«The future USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. will serve for decades as a reminder of Lt. Gen. Petersen’s service to our nation and Navy and Marine Corps team», said Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer. «This ceremony honors not only Petersen’s service but also the service of our nation’s industrial partners, who, for centuries, have helped make our Navy the greatest in the world».

The future USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG-121) will be the 71st Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, and is the 5th of 21 ships currently under contract for the DDG-51 program. The ship will be configured as a Flight IIA destroyer, which enables power projection, forward presence, and escort operations at sea in support of Low Intensity Conflict/Coastal and Littoral Offshore Warfare, as well as open ocean conflict.

The future USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG-121) will be equipped with the U.S. Navy’s Aegis Combat System, the world’s foremost integrated naval weapon. The ship will also incorporate Cooperative Engagement Capability that when combined with the Aegis Combat System, will permit groups of ships and aircraft to link radars to provide a composite picture of the battle space – effectively increasing the theater space. The capability is designed to provide the U.S. Navy with a 21st century fighting edge.

The nearly 9,500-ton Frank E. Petersen Jr. is 510 feet/156 m in length, has a waterline beam of 59 feet/18 m, and a navigational draft of 31 feet/9.5 m. Four gas turbine engines will power the ship to speeds in excess of 30 knots/34.5 mph/55.5 km/h.

 

Ship Characteristics

Length Overall	510 feet/156 m
Beam – Waterline	59 feet/18 m
Draft	31 feet/9.5 m
Displacement – Full Load	9,500 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	SPY-1D Phased Array Radar (Lockheed Martin)/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 IIA: Technology Insertion

Ship	Yard	Launched	Commissioned	Homeport
DDG-116 Thomas Hudner	GDBIW	04-01-17
DDG-117 Paul Ignatius	HIIIS	11-12-16
DDG-118 Daniel Inouye	GDBIW
DDG-119 Delbert D. Black	HIIIS	09-08-17
DDG-120 Carl M. Levin	GDBIW
DDG-121 Frank E. Peterson Jr.	HIIIS	07-13-18
DDG-122 John Basilone	GDBIW
DDG-123 Lenah H. Sutcliffe Higbee	HIIIS
DDG-124 Harvey C. Barnum, Jr.	GDBIW
DDG-127 Gallagher	GDBIW