USS ''Thomas Hudner'' (DDG-116) is an . The $663 million contract to build her was awarded on 28 February 2012, to

Bath Iron Works Bath Iron Works (BIW) is a major United States shipyard located on the Kennebec River in Bath, Maine, founded in 1884 as Bath Iron Works, Limited. Since 1995, Bath Iron Works has been a subsidiary of General Dynamics. It is the fifth-largest de ...

, of Bath, Maine. On 7 May 2012, Secretary of the Navy,

Ray Mabus Raymond Edwin Mabus Jr. (; born October 11, 1948) is an American politician and lawyer. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 75th United States Secretary of the Navy from 2009 to 2017. Mabus previously served as the State Auditor ...

, announced the ship name would be named ''Thomas Hudner'' in honor of U.S. naval aviator Thomas Hudner, who was awarded the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

for his actions in trying to save the life of his

wingman A wingman (or wingmate) is a pilot or UAV who supports another pilot in a potentially dangerous flying environment. ''Wingman'' was originally the plane flying beside and slightly behind the lead plane in an aircraft formation. According to t ...

Ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

Jesse L. Brown Jesse LeRoy Brown (October 13, 1926 – December 4, 1950) was a United States Navy officer. He was the first African-American aviator to complete the United States Navy's basic flight training program (though not the first African-American Navy ...

, during the

Battle of Chosin Reservoir The Battle of Chosin Reservoir, also known as the Chosin Reservoir Campaign or the Battle of Lake Changjin (), was an important battle in the Korean War. The name "Chosin" is derived from the Japanese pronunciation "''Chōshin'', instead of t ...

, in the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

Construction and design

''Thomas Hudner'' is the 66th ship of the ''Arleigh Burke'' class of destroyers, the first of which, , was commissioned in July 1991. As an ''Arleigh Burke''-class ship, ''Thomas Hudner''s roles included

anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

anti-submarine An anti-submarine weapon (ASW) is any one of a number of devices that are intended to act against a submarine and its crew, to destroy (sink) the vessel or reduce its capability as a weapon of war. In its simplest sense, an anti-submarine weapo ...

, and

anti-surface warfare Anti-surface warfare (ASuW or ASUW) is the branch of naval warfare concerned with the suppression of surface combatants. More generally, it is any weapons, sensors, or operations intended to attack or limit the effectiveness of an adversary's su ...

, as well as strike operations. During its long production run, the class was built in three flights—Flight I (DDG-51–DDG-71), Flight II (DDG-72–DDG-78), and Flight IIA (DDG-79– ). ''Thomas Hudner'' is to be a "Technology Insertion" ship with elements of the next generation of ''Arleigh Burke'' class destroyers, called Flight III, and Flight III proper is planned to start with DDG-125. In 2008, the U.S. Navy decided to restart production of the ''Arleigh Burke'' class as orders for the were reduced from thirty-two to three. The first three ships (DDG-113—DDG-115) ordered following the product decision are known as the "restart" ships, while "technology insertion" ships (DDG-116—DDG-123) are expected to incorporate certain elements of ''Arleigh Burke'' class Flight III, which in turn is planned to run from DDG-125 onwards. ''Thomas Hudner''s keel was laid on 16 November 2015. Her christening took place on 1 April 2017, and she was launched three weeks later, on 23 April. She completed acceptance trials 3 May 2018, and on 15 June 2018, the Navy accepted delivery of ''Thomas Hudner'' from shipbuilder General Dynamics Bath Iron Works. ''Thomas Hudner'' was commissioned on 1 December 2018, in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Massachusetts.

Service history

, ''Thomas Hudner''s home port is Naval Station Mayport,

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. From July to August 2020, ''Thomas Hudner'' participated in

Operation Nanook Operation Nanook (OP NANOOK; french: Opération Nanook) is an annual sovereignty operation and manoeuvre warfare exercise conducted by the Canadian Armed Forces in the Arctic. Sovereignty patrols in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and northern C ...

alongside vessels from the

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

, French, &

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

navies. On 20 February 2021, ''Thomas Hudner'' embarked on her maiden deployment, traveling over before returning to her home port on 17 July 2021. During her deployment, she made transits to the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...

, operated in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

with the French aircraft carrier ''Charles de Gaulle'' and her battlegroup, and also took part in the annual

BALTOPS BALTOPS (Baltic Operations) is an annual military exercise, held and sponsored by the Commander, United States Naval Forces Europe, since 1971, in the Baltic Sea and the regions surrounding it. The purpose of BALTOPS is to train gunnery, replenis ...

exercise with NATO allies. In September 2021, ''Thomas Hudner'', along with her

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...

, participated in "Operation Cutlass Fury" with the Canadian and French navies. Later that month, she became a part of the newly formed Task Group Greyhound. In November 2022, ''Thomas Hudner'' and the , an air defense frigate, joined the new super-carrier as part of a NATO Carrier Strike Group operating in the Atlantic Ocean with multiple other nations. They arrived at Portsmouth, England, on 14 November 2022.

References

External links

* Arleigh Burke-class destroyers 2017 ships {{US-mil-ship-stub