Photo: U.S. Navy
Back in 1991, the U.S Navy started rolling out a new class of guided-missile destroyers. Code-named DDG 51, they were here to replace the Charles F. Adams class (DDG 2) vessels, and since then they have become some of the most successful floating war machines ever made.
We all know them by their stage name, Arleigh Burke, and at the time of writing, 70 of them are in service with the navy, fulfilling their roles either independently or as part of Carrier Strike Groups, Surface Action Groups, and Expeditionary Strike Groups.
The latest to join the ranks (read it was officially commissioned) is the USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG 121). Christened in 2018, it is the first to wear the name of Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Frank E. Petersen. Petersen was, according to the Navy, “the first Black Marine Corps aviator and the first Black Marine Corps officer promoted to brigadier general.”
"This ship honors the life and legacy of Lt. Gen. Frank E. Petersen, Jr., a pioneer not just for Marine Corps aviation but for our entire naval force,” said Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro at the end of last week, before the ship was commissioned.
“I have no doubt the crew will be a cornerstone of the Surface Force carrying his legacy forward and strengthening the bond between our Navy and Marine Corps team.”
The USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. will be based at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. Like all others of its class, it is almost 510 feet long (155 meters), and weighs 9,500 tons.
The ship is powered by four General Electric gas turbines that give out a combined 100,000 shaft horsepower. It is loaded with weapons, mostly missiles, from standard ones to Tomahawks. Arleigh Burkes also pack torpedoes, a CIWS, and guns.
The latest to join the ranks (read it was officially commissioned) is the USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG 121). Christened in 2018, it is the first to wear the name of Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Frank E. Petersen. Petersen was, according to the Navy, “the first Black Marine Corps aviator and the first Black Marine Corps officer promoted to brigadier general.”
"This ship honors the life and legacy of Lt. Gen. Frank E. Petersen, Jr., a pioneer not just for Marine Corps aviation but for our entire naval force,” said Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro at the end of last week, before the ship was commissioned.
“I have no doubt the crew will be a cornerstone of the Surface Force carrying his legacy forward and strengthening the bond between our Navy and Marine Corps team.”
The USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. will be based at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. Like all others of its class, it is almost 510 feet long (155 meters), and weighs 9,500 tons.
The ship is powered by four General Electric gas turbines that give out a combined 100,000 shaft horsepower. It is loaded with weapons, mostly missiles, from standard ones to Tomahawks. Arleigh Burkes also pack torpedoes, a CIWS, and guns.
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