BATH, Maine — The U.S. Navy announced Thursday that construction of a DDG 51 destroyer at Bath Iron Works had reached a “critical” milestone and testing of its Aegis combat system had begun.
The future USS Rafael Peralta, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, achieved “light off” status of its AEGIS combat system, marking the beginning of combat system testing, the trade journal Sea Power Magazine reported.
The future DDG 115, which was christened Oct. 31 and launched the following day, is due to be delivered in late 2016.
“This is the first BIW DDG 51 restart destroyer to achieve Aegis light off and we’re excited to provide the fleet with another DDG 51 equipped with enhanced … warfighting capabilities,” the report quotes DDG 51 class program manager Mark Vandroff as saying. “I look forward to a successful test program and taking DDG 115 to sea in 2016.”
The new destroyer, which cost an estimated $1.5 billion, will be homeported in San Diego, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.