The U.S. Navy christened the future USS Jack H. Lucas (DDG-125), the first Flight III Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, during a 9:55 a.m. CDT ceremony on Saturday, March 26, in Pascagoula, Mississippi.

Jacklyn Harold «Jack» Lucas, the ship’s namesake, served as a U.S. Marine during World War II and was awarded the Medal of Honor at the age of 17, making him the youngest recipient. Private First Class Lucas received the award during the Iwo Jima campaign when he hurled himself on two grenades to absorb the explosion with his own body and protect his fellow Marines. Surviving the blast, Lucas lived until June 5, 2008, when he died from cancer. The future USS Jack H. Lucas (DDG-125) is the first combat warship to bear his name.

Admiral Michael Gilday, Chief of Naval Operations, delivered the christening ceremony’s principal address. The Honorable Roger Wicker, U.S. Senator from Mississippi; the Honorable Steven Palazzo, U.S. Representative from Mississippi’s Fourth District; the Honorable Meredith Berger, Performing the Duties of the Under Secretary of the U.S. Navy; Major General Jason Bohm, Commanding General, Marine Corps Recruiting Command; and Ms. Kari Wilkinson, President of Ingalls Shipbuilding also provided remarks. In a time-honored Navy tradition, the ship’s sponsors, Ms. Ruby Lucas and Ms. Catherine B. Reynolds, christened the ship by breaking a bottle of sparkling wine across the bow.

«The future USS Jack H. Lucas (DDG-125) will serve as a constant reminder of the immense impact actions taken by any one Sailor or Marine can truly have», said Secretary of the U.S. Navy Carlos Del Toro. «Private First Class Lucas is a national hero and this ship and crew will honor his legacy for decades to come».

The ship will be the 75th Arleigh Burke-class destroyer and is one of 20 ships currently under contract for the DDG-51 program. The Flight III upgrade is centered on the AN/SPY-6(V)1 Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR). It incorporates upgrades to the electrical power and cooling capacity plus additional associated changes to provide greatly enhanced warfighting capability to the fleet. The AMDR enables Flight III ships to perform Anti-Air Warfare and Ballistic Missile Defense simultaneously, satisfying the Navy’s critical need for an enhanced surface combatant Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) capability. The Flight III baseline begins with DDGs 125-126 and continues with DDG-128 and follow on ships. The future USS Jack H. Lucas (DDG-125) will be 509.5 feet/155.3 meters long and 59 feet/18 meters wide, with a displacement of 9,496 tons. The ship will homeport in San Diego, California.

The DDG-51 Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer (DDG-51) is a multi-mission ship designed to operate offensively and defensively, independently, or part of Carrier Strike Groups, Expeditionary Strike Groups, and Surface Action Groups in multi-threat environments that include air, surface and subsurface threats. These ships will respond to Low Intensity Conflict/Coastal and Littoral Offshore Warfare scenarios, and open ocean conflict, providing or augmenting power projection, forward presence requirements and escort operations at sea. Flight III is the fourth Flight upgrade in the 30+ year history of the class, building on the proud legacy of Flight I, II and IIA ships before it.

 

CHARACTERISTICS

Length Overall	510 feet/160 m
Beam – Waterline	66 feet/20 m
Draft	30.5 feet/9.3 m
Displacement – Full Load	9,700 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 AESA 3D radar (Raytheon Company) and Aegis Combat System (Lockheed Martin); SPS-73(V)12 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 96 Standard, Vertical Launch ASROC (Anti-Submarine Rocket) & Tomahawk ASM (Air-to-Surface Missile)/LAM (Loitering Attack Missile); 5-in (127-mm)/62 Mark-45 gun; 2 (1) CIWS (Close-In Weapon System); 2 Mark-32 triple 324-mm torpedo tubes for Mark-46, Mark-50 ASW torpedos or Mark 54 Lightweight Torpedo

 

Guided Missile Destroyers Lineup

 

Flight III

Ship	Yard	Launched	Commissioned	Homeport
DDG-125 Jack H. Lucas	HIIIS	06-04-21
DDG-126 Louis H. Wilson, Jr.	GDBIW
DDG-128 Ted Stevens	HIIIS
DDG-129 Jeremiah Denton	HIIIS
DDG-130 William Charette	GDBIW
DDG-131 George M. Neal	HIIIS
DDG-132 Quentin Walsh	GDBIW
DDG-133 Sam Nunn	HIIIS
DDG-134 John E. Kilmer	GDBIW
DDG-135 Thad Cochran	HIIIS
DDG-136 Richard G. Lugar	GDBIW
DDG-137 John F. Lehman	HIIIS
DDG-138	GDBIW
DDG-139 Telesforo Trinidad	HIIIS