The future USS Thad Cochran (DDG 135) is one step closer to hitting the water following the placement of one of the ship’s central structural units. The unit, which will form the upper level of DDG 135’s main engine room, was lifted into place with precision, an effort requiring coordination across multiple crafts.
PLANNING. PRECISION. TEAMWORK
The unit lift measured 300 tons—or about 600,000 pounds—and required exact alignment with structural, piping, HVAC and outfitting components. Nothing could be out of place.
“Communication between crafts is so incredibly important,” said BJ Johnson, ship superintendent. “Hull, Pipe, Sheetmetal, Electrical—they’ve all got to be talking to make sure we don’t have interferences with bulkheads or pipes, or ducts in the way. It’s a big process but this team is the best at what they do.”
SERVICE + SHIPBUILDING
For Lorenzo Fuller, ship superintendent, ship construction moments like this carry deeper meaning. Lorenzo has been at Ingalls for over 39 years and spent eight years in the Marine Corps.
“It does my heart good to be able to put a ship in the fleet and know that it’s going to go out there and complete a mission,” he said. “And it does my heart well to pass the torch to the younger shipbuilders coming up behind us.”
ABOUT THE SHIP
DDG 135 is a Flight III, Arleigh Burke-class destroyer named in honor of U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran, Mississippi’s second longest-serving member of Congress and a U.S. Navy ensign from 1959-1961.
These destroyers are highly capable, multi-mission ships and serve as the backbone of the U.S. surface fleet.
As DDG 135 continues to take shape, achievements like this remind us of how important our roles are to the nation, to this shipyard and to each other.