The next two United States Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers – both of the Flight III – have officially been given names. USS Intrepid (DDG-145) and USS Robert Kerrey (DDG-146) will be respectively the 95th and 96th vessels of the class of destroyers, and both will be built at Huntington Ingalls Industries' Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi.
In August 2023 the service announced it would acquire the next nine Flight III warships with the costs spread across fiscal years 2023 to 2027. In addition, the contracts with Ingalls Shipbuilding, for six of the vessels, and three for General Dynamics' Bath Iron Works, could be expanded as the Navy sees fit.
The Backbone of the U.S. Navy's Surface Fleet
According to the U.S. Navy, each Arleigh Burke-class destroyer has been "built around the Aegis Combat System," and the vessels continue to be "the backbone of the U.S. Navy's surface fleet providing protection to America around the globe."
The Arleigh Burke class was developed at the tail end of the Cold War to replace the aging Charles F. Adams-class destroyers. Each of the guided-missile warships in the class has an overall length of 500 to 510 feet and a displacement that ranges from 8,230 to 9,700 tons.
The destroyers can operate independently or as part of Carrier Strike Groups, Surface Action Groups, and Expeditionary Strike Groups. As multi-mission surface combatants, the warships are capable of conducting Anti-Air Warfare (AAW), Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), and Anti-Surface Warfare (ASuW). The DDG 51 Flight III upgrade was designed to be centered on the AN/SPY-6(V)1 Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR) system that provides vastly increased capability over Flight IIA ships. The AMDR has enabled Flight III ships to simultaneously perform AAW and BMD, which satisfies the U.S. Navy’s critical need for an enhanced surface combatant Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) capability.
The New USS Intrepid
Last Friday, Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro officially named DDG-145 the future USS Intrepid while aboard the retired Essex-class aircraft carrier that shares its namesake. Preserved as the Intrepid Museum in New York City, the former carrier (CV/CVA/CVS-11) is just one of four maintained as a floating museum ship.
"It is deeply meaningful to stand aboard USS Intrepid – the fourth vessel to bear the name, and whose proud legacy continues to inspire and remind so many visitors of the courage, resilience and sacrifice that define the U.S. Navy – and it is with profound respect that we also look to the future of our Navy from these decks," said Secretary Del Toro. "It is my pleasure to announce that the fifth vessel named Intrepid will be an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, DDG 145, USS Intrepid, in honor of her past namesakes and the courageous service of all our Sailors globally from the South China Sea to the Red Sea."
The future Arleigh Burke-class destroyer will be the fifth U.S. Navy vessel to bear the name.
The first was an armed ketch that was actually captured by Commodore Stephen Decatur during his mission against the Barbary pirates in North Africa to destroy the captured USS Philadelphia. Originally named Mastico, Decatur and his men took control of the ketch in December 1803, and renamed her Intrepid. She was employed as a fire ship in Tripoli harbor in September 1804 but exploded either prematurely or perhaps to stop a boarding party. Thirteen U.S. sailors were killed. An admiring Admiral Horatio Nelson of the Royal Navy described the feat as "the most bold and daring act of the age."
The second was an experimental steamship, while the third was a receiving and barracks ship. The most famous former USS Intrepid is the famed aircraft carrier.
Her keel was laid down just six days before the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, and upon completion, she immediately headed to the Pacific where she was greeted by a baptism of fire when she took part in the invasion of the Marshall Islands in January 1944. By the end of the war, USS Intrepid suffered a total of four kamikaze attacks as well as a torpedo strike, yet she survived.
The carrier remained in service until 1973, taking part in combat operations during the war in Vietnam, and recovering several NASA space capsules.
"We know this namesake ship will serve our Navy and our nation proudly as the former USS Intrepid did and continues to do, and we couldn't be more thrilled that it begins its proverbial journey today at the Intrepid Museum," said Intrepid Museum President Susan Marenoff-Zausner. "For all of its missions, the entire Museum team wishes the ships and its crew safety and success."
The future USS Intrepid's sponsor will be Betty Del Toro, wife of Secretary Del Toro and a "lifelong supporter of the Navy and a steadfast advocate for Sailors and Marines."
Meet the USS Robert Kerrey
On Saturday, Secretary Del Toro also named the future DDG-146, the USS Robert Kerrey – the first U.S. Navy vessel to be named for the former United States senator, Nebraska governor, and Medal of Honor recipient. A day earlier, Del Toro met with Kerrey in New York City and shared the news that the 96th vessel of the class would be named in his honor.
"My sincere thanks to President Biden, Secretary of the Navy Del Toro, and the United States Navy that gave me the opportunity to serve my country for three of the best years of my life," said Senator Kerrey. "I am very grateful for this recognition."
Senator Kerrey was awarded the Medal of Honor for service as a United States Navy SEAL in 1969. According to the service, on March 14 of that year, "he led his team on a mission to capture important Viet Cong political leaders who had set up a base of operations on an island in the bay of Nha Trang. The platoon scaled a 350-foot cliff and were descending from a ledge overlooking the enemy camp when a grenade exploded at Kerrey's feet, severely injuring his right leg and propelling him backward onto jagged rocks. Immobilized by his multiple wounds, Kerrey nonetheless continued directing his team in securing the enemy camp and finding an extraction site for helicopter evacuation."
Kerrey lost his lower leg during the action, and in 1970, became the first SEAL to receive the nation's highest decoration. He served as governor of the Cornhusker State from 1983 to 1987, and represented Nebraska as a U.S. senator from 1989 to 2001.
"One of the great privileges I have as Secretary of the Navy is to name ships, and it is my honor to name the future USS Robert Kerrey (DDG 146)," said Del Toro. "This will be the first Navy vessel named in his honor, and it is most appropriate we do so, for his actions in Vietnam and his continued service to this country well beyond his Naval service."
Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: Editor@nationalinterest.org.
Image: Wikimedia Commons.
