Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) celebrated the early completion and delivery of an Arleigh Burke-class naval destroyer on Tuesday after the delivery was announced by the U.S. Navy.
[RELATED: Bath Iron Works Secures Contract to Construct New Navy Destroyer…]
“@USNavy has accepted delivery of the future USS Patrick Gallagher from Bath Iron Works more than two months ahead of schedule following exceptional sea trials. Maine shipbuilders continue to prove that they are second to none because, as we know, ‘Bath built is best built,'” said Sen. Collins in a social media post.
The post came as a quote-tweet responding to a U.S. Navy announcement from Monday.
The Navy announced that it accepted the delivery of the USS Patrick Gallagher (DDG 127) from Bath Iron Works.
They explained that the ship was delivered after its production time was accelerated by more than two months.
The accelerated process included expedited sea trials that included testing for hull, mechanical, electrical, and weapons systems.
Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao posted a video of the newly completed destroyer, including more details on the ship’s expedited completion.
“The team was prepared, and we were confident that we were going to make that date, and we did. We worked with our navy partners to meet the call of the nation to deliver the ship faster. This was one opportunity for B.I.W. to lean forward and make sure that we were supporting the nation. And doing that, we shaved off over 40 days of time,” said B.I.W. Chief Superintendent of Ships Completion Sarah Richardson.
The ship’s delivery comes as the U.S. Navy has been heavily involved in the ongoing war with Iran, including by operating in the critical Strait of Hormuz, which both sides have promised to blockade.
The newly completed ship has been under construction since 2018.
The destroyer’s namesake, Gallagher, was an Irish-born U.S. Marine who was killed in Vietnam while on patrol in 1967.
He received both the Purple Heart and the Navy Cross, among other accolades. In 1966, he saved the lives of three of his fellow Marines when he threw himself on a grenade, which he was able to dispose of before it detonated.
Semper-Fi