US Navy To Christen New Guided Missile Destroyer On Saturday - Pentagon

Umer Jamshaid Published April 25, 2019 | 02:15 AM

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th April, 2019) The United States will christen its newest guided missile destroyer in a ceremony in the US state of Maine on April 27, the US Department of Defense said in a press release.

"The Navy will christen its newest Zumwalt-class guided missile destroyer, the future USS Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG 1002), during a 10 a.m. EST ceremony Saturday, April 27, at General Dynamics-Bath Iron Works shipyard in Bath, Maine," the release said on Wednesday.

The third ship in the Zumwalt class is named in honor of the 36th US President Lyndon Johnson, who served from 1963-1969, the release said.

President Johnson's daughters, Lynda Johnson Robb and Luci Johnson, will attend the ceremony and christen the new ship by breaking a bottle of sparkling wine across its bow, the Defense Department said.

According to the Navy, Zumwalt-class destroyers will be capable of performing deterrence, power projection, sea control and command and control missions.

Zumwalt-class ships are 610 feet long, have a beam of 80.7 feet, displace almost 16,000 tons and are capable of making 30 knots speed, the release noted.