Huntington Ingalls Industries' (HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding has laid the keel for the future US Navy guided missile destroyer USS Ted Stevens.
The 78th Arleigh Burke-class destroyer is named for the late US Senator Ted Stevens from Alaska. Stevens was the longest-serving Republican US Senator in history at the time he left office and was the third senator to hold the title of president pro tempore emeritus.
The future Ted Stevens belongs to the Arleigh Burke-class Flight III destroyers. Ships with the Flight III upgrade will each have an AN/SPY-6(V)1 Air and Missile Defense Radar as well as upgrades to the electrical power and cooling capacity.
