The crew sailed the ship from the Huntington Ingalls Industries shipbuilding division in Mississippi to Norfolk. The Navy said the destroyer’s commissioning ceremony will be held in Whittier, Alaska, at a later date.
The ship is named for U.S. Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska, a decorated World War II Army Air Corps veteran. Stevens served 40 years in the Senate and was known as an advocate for national security and military readiness.
The future USS Ted Stevens is the first U.S. Navy warship to carry his name. The destroyer is part of the Flight III variant of the Arleigh Burke class, the Navy’s next generation of surface combatants.
As a Flight III destroyer, the ship is equipped with the AN/SPY-6(V)1 radar and the Aegis Baseline 10 combat system. The Navy said these systems are designed to counter evolving threats well into the 21st century.
U.S. Naval Surface Force Atlantic mans, trains and equips assigned surface forces and shore activities for sustained operations in support of U.S. national interests. The SURFLANT force includes 70 ships and 31 shore commands.