Navy receives DDG-112

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BATH, Maine, May 7 (UPI) -- The last DDG destroyer built by General Dynamics prior to a temporary pause in DDG-51 class ship deliveries has been delivered to the U.S. Navy.

The ship, the future USS Michael Murphy, had earlier finished trials in the Atlantic, during which GD Bath Iron Works and members of the Navy's Board of Inspection and Survey tested and evaluated its operational readiness.

"This delivery marks a very significant milestone for not only the crew of Michael Murphy, but also the Navy, the shipbuilder Bath Iron Works, and the local community in Bath, Maine," said Capt. Mark Vandroff, Program Executive Office Ships' DDG 51-class program manager. "This is yet another well-built and tremendously capable ship that will soon join the fleet."

The DDG 51-class of ship is a guided-missile destroyer with minimized procurement and lifetime support costs as a result of the program's maturity. The future USS Michael Murphy is number 112 in the program. DDG 113 is being bult by Huntington Ingalls Industries in Pascagoula, Miss., will be the first of the DDG 51-class program continuation ships.

Three other vessels are on order from Iron Works and Huntington Ingalls, wih deliveries expected to begin in 2016.