"The Navy will commission its newest Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, the future USS Paul Ignatius (DDG 117), during a… ceremony Saturday, July 27 at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida," the release said on Wednesday.
The ship is named after Paul Robert Ignatius, who served in the US Navy during World War II, and later as assistant secretary of defence for installations and logistics from 1964 to 1967, and secretary of the Navy from 1967 to 1969 during the Vietnam War, the release noted.
"Built in the Flight IIA configuration, the ship delivers rapid reaction time, high firepower, and improved electronic warfare capabilities," the Defence Department said.
The warship will be the 67th Arleigh Burke-class destroyer and is one of 21 ships currently under contract for the DDG 51 program, the release added.
