(Tribune News Service) — Bath Iron Works has been awarded a contract to build a new U.S. Navy destroyer that will be named after the youngest living Medal of Honor recipient.
“This award is a testament to the highly skilled and hard-working men and women of BIW and once again shows that ‘Bath Built is Best Built,’” Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said in an announcement of the contract Thursday.
The destroyer will be the newest DDG 51 Arleigh Burke-class destroyer in the U.S. Navy, according to Collins’ statement.
“As global threats continue to grow, investing in a strong and capable Navy is more important than ever,” she said.
The DDG 51 class of guided missile destroyers are capable of conducting anti-air, anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare, according to the U.S. Navy’s website. Bath Iron Works has worked on over 45 such destroyers since the first of the class was deployed in 1991.
“This destroyer will enhance our national security, protect good-paying Maine jobs, and provide long-term stability for the highly skilled men and women at BIW,” Collins said.
The vessel is to be named after Cpl. Kyle Carpenter. He received the Medal of Honor in 2014 after he shielded a fellow Marine from a grenade blast in Afghanistan in 2010, losing his right eye and suffering other life-threatening injuries. Carpenter has since earned a college degree, published a memoir and become a motivational speaker.
Collins, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said funding was secured for the destroyer through the FY24 and FY25 appropriations spending packages and BIW competed with other manufacturers for the contract.
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Vice Adm. John Gumbleton, left, speaks with Christopher Waller, Vice President of Programs for General Dynamics Bath Iron Works during a visit to Bath, Maine. (U.S. Navy)
