PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- The Navy and HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division marked the start of fabrication for the future USS Thad Cochran (DDG 135) with a ceremony at HII’s shipyard, Nov. 13.
The ship is named for the late Thad Cochran, a United States senator who represented Mississippi from 1978 to 2018 and served as chairman of the United States Senate Appropriations Committee.
DDG 135 will be a Flight III guided missile destroyer centered on the AN/SPY-6(V)1 Air and Missile Defense Radar and will provide greatly enhanced warfighting capability to the fleet. The Flight III baseline begins with DDGs 125-126 and continues with DDG 128 and follow-on ships.
“The future USS Thad Cochran’s start of fabrication is the first major milestone in the construction of the ship. Flight III guided missile destroyers will deliver unparalleled warfighting capabilities to the Fleet, bringing nearly 10,000 tons of American maritime strength across the world’s oceans and seas,” said Capt. Seth Miller, DDG 51 program manager, Program Executive Office Ships.
Ingalls Shipbuilding division is also in production on future destroyers Ted Stevens (DDG 128), Jeremiah Denton (DDG 129), George M. Neal (DDG 131), and Sam Nunn (DDG 133).
As one of the Defense Department's largest acquisition organizations, PEO Ships is responsible for executing the development and procurement of all destroyers, amphibious ships, special mission and support ships, boats and craft.