BATH
   The Navy will take delivery in February of the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, Rafael Peralta (DDG 115), according to its manufactuer, Bath Iron Works.
 
   The vessel returned to the Bath shipyard Dec. 16 after successfully completing a nearly week-long series of demonstrations for Navy reviewers. Based on the performance during the sea trials, the Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey recommended DDG 115 join the U.S. Navy fleet. 

   DDG 115 is the first Arleigh Burke-class destroyer built by Bath Iron Works after a four-year break in the Navy’s DDG 51 program. According to a release from BIW, the destroyer “demonstrates the versatility and craftsmanship of the shipyard’s workers.”

   “The ship looked great and performed well. It’s a ship Bath Iron Works can be proud of,” said Bath Iron Works President Dirk Lesko in the release.
 
   Peralta will depart Bath later this spring and will join the other 34 active Bath-built DDG 51’s in active service, including DDG-51 itself, USS Arleigh Burke. 

   DDG 115 is named for Marine Sgt. Rafael Peralta who was killed in Iraq in the second battle of Fallujah, falling on an enemy grenade thereby shielding other members of his squad from the blast. He was awarded the Navy Cross posthumously. 

   There are currently three other DDG 51 destroyers in production at Bath Iron Works: Thomas Hudner (DDG 116), Daniel Inouye (DDG 118) and Carl M. Levin (DDG 120). 
 

Comments are not available on this story.