Destroyer Daniel Inouye Delivers to Navy as Bath Iron Works Picks at Backlog

March 9, 2021 5:03 PM - Updated: March 10, 2021 3:05 AM
Guided-missile Daniel Inouye (DDG-118). BIW Photo

This post has been updated with a statement from Bath Iron Works.

After years of schedule slips, the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer Daniel Inouye (DDG-118) delivered to the Navy on Monday, the service announced.

“Delivery of DDG-118 represents the official transfer of the ship from the shipbuilder to the Navy. Prior to delivery, the ship successfully conducted a series of at-sea and pier-side trials to demonstrate its material and operational readiness,” read a release.

Daniel Inouye completed builder’s trials in December and acceptance trials in February.

The General Dynamic Bath Iron Works-built destroyer’s delivery follows that of USS Thomas Hudner (DDG-116) in late 2018.

“Delivering DDG-118 to the Navy is a major milestone that everyone at the shipyard can be proud of. This ship will be an important addition to the Navy fleet. It also represents an important accomplishment in our ongoing efforts to improve schedule performance and position ourselves for additional work in support of our Navy customer,” BIW said in a statement.

The ship is the first Bath ship as part of a $6.1 billion multiyear contract for the warships the Navy issued in 2013 following the restart of the Arleigh Burke line.

The Flight IIA destroyer is outfitted with the Aegis Baseline 9 combat system and is set to commission later this year, USNI News understands.

Bath began fabrication of Daniel Inouye in 2014 and had intended for the ship to arrive at its planned homeport at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in 2018. However, myriad of delays – most recently a labor dispute at the Maine shipyard and the COVID-19 pandemic – have pushed the schedule on ship delivery.

Last year, yard president Dirk Lesko announced a three-year plan to clear the backlog of work that has plagued the yard.

“DDG-118 is the first BIW ship to head down the Kennebec River in two years. It represents our future as a shipyard, not just because this ship is an important and much-needed asset for the U.S. Navy fleet, but also because it demonstrates the commitment by our workforce and company management to increase our shipbuilding rate to two ships per year, a crucial part of our three-year schedule recovery plan that is well underway,” BIW said in a statement when the destroyer departed for builder’s trials in December.

The current multiyear destroyer contract will expire in Fiscal Year 2022 with the anticipated start of construction of the DDG(X) in 2028, leaving the door open for a potential five-year multiyear contract for an additional DDG-51 buy.

“BIW is also in production on the future Arleigh Burke-class destroyers Carl M. Levin (DDG-120), John Basilone (DDG-122), Harvey C. Barnum (DDG-124), Patrick Gallagher (DDG-127) and Flight III ships, Louis H. Wilson, Jr. (DDG-126), and William Charette (DDG-130), as well as the future Zumwalt-class destroyer, Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG-1002),” Naval Sea Systems Command said in a press release.

Sam LaGrone

Sam LaGrone

Sam LaGrone is the editor of USNI News. He has covered legislation, acquisition and operations for the Sea Services since 2009 and spent time underway with the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and the Canadian Navy.
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