General Dynamics' Bath Iron Work shipyard has conducted a keel-laying ceremony for the future USS Daniel Inouye (DDG 118).
The ship's sponsor Irene Hirano Inouye, wife of the late Senator Daniel Inouye, authenticated the keel.
During the ceremony, the authenticators etched their initials into the keel plate to symbolically recognise the joining of modular components and the ceremonial beginning of the ship.
The ship's namesake, Daniel Inouye, served as a United States Senator from Hawaii from 1963 until his death in 2012.
Senator Inouye received the Medal of Honor for his heroism while serving with the 442nd Infantry Regiment in Italy during World War II.
During an assault on April 21, 1945, he lost his right arm but continued to fight until the Regiment's position was secured.
DDG 118 will be built in the Flight IIA configuration with the Aegis Baseline 9 Combat System that includes integrated air and missile defence capability.
These multi-mission surface combatants also providing increased capabilities in anti-submarine warfare, command and control, and anti-surface warfare.
