The US Navy commissioned its newest guided missile destroyer, USS Frank E. Petersen Jr, in a ceremony at the Port of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina, on Saturday, May 14.
The 71st overall Arleigh Burke-class destroyer was built by Huntington Ingalls Industries' Ingalls Shipbuilding division in Pascagoula, Mississippi. It was launched on July 13, 2018, and delivered to the navy on November 30, 2021.
The 513-foot (156-metre) ship is powered by four GE LM2500 gas turbines that deliver a speed of 31 knots. Armament includes a 127-millimetre naval gun, 25-millimetre autocannons, a 20-millimetre close-in weapon system, torpedoes, surface-to-air missiles, and land attack cruise missiles.
Frank E. Petersen Jr will be homeported at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii.
