Welcome to Navy Live blog coverage of the July 27 commissioning of the Navy’s newest guided-missile destroyer, the future USS Paul Ignatius (DDG 117).

Live video from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time.

“The future USS Paul Ignatius stands as proof of what the teamwork of all our people – civilian, contractor and military – can accomplish together.” — Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer

The ship is named in honor of Paul Robert Ignatius, who served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, and later during the Lyndon B. Johnson administration as assistant secretary of defense for installations and logistics from 1964 – 1967, and secretary of the Navy from 1967 to 1969.

The future USS Paul Ignatius will be the 67th Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, and is one of 21 ships currently under contract for the DDG 51 program. Arleigh Burke-class destroyers conduct a variety of missions from peacetime presence and humanitarian assistance/disaster relief to sea control and power projection. Built in the Flight IIA configuration, the ship delivers rapid reaction time, high firepower, and improved electronic warfare capabilities.

Follow the conversation on Twitter using #USSPaulIgnatius .

https://navylive.dodlive.mil/2019/07/27/uss-paul-ignatius-commissioning/ U.S. Navy