Photo Release -- Ingalls Shipbuilding Starts Fabrication On Aegis Destroyer John Finn (DDG 113)

PASCAGOULA, Miss., Sept. 11, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) has started fabrication on the U.S. Navy's next Aegis guided missile destroyer, John Finn (DDG 113). The ship will be built at the company's Ingalls Shipbuilding division and will be the 29 ^th Arleigh Burke-class destroyer built at Ingalls.

Ingalls Shipbuilding burner specialist Roland Wilson uses an Avenger III Plasma Cutter to cut patterns into steel, marking start of fabrication for the Aegis guided missile destroyer John Finn (DDG 113). A Monday ceremony at Ingalls acknowledged the actual start of fabrication on Sept. 3.

A photo accompanying this release is available at http://media.globenewswire.com/hii/mediagallery.html?pkgid=14628

"This is a significant day for our company and for the U.S. Navy as Ingalls once again builds on the long legacy of surface combatant construction with the start of fabrication on DDG 113," said Bob Merchent, Ingalls' vice president, surface combatants and U.S. Coast Guard programs. "We have delivered 28 of these ships to the U.S. Navy, and our experienced and talented shipbuilders stand more than ready to produce new quality destroyers. Through our build plans and proven construction process, these ships will be built with the utmost efficiency and quality. Our DDG team is ready to get to work and get this production line up and running."

The start of fabrication milestone signifies that 100 tons of steel have been cut for DDG 113. Ingalls uses state-of-the-art robotic cutting machines to ensure the steel is cut and fabricated to exact Navy specifications. John Finn is expected to be delivered to the Navy in the third quarter of 2016. Ingalls also has a contract to build a 30 ^th destroyer, Ralph Johnson (DDG 114), with start of fabrication scheduled for 2013.

DDG 113 is named to honor John Finn, a Medal of Honor recipient who Adm. Chester Nimitz said displayed "magnificent courage in the face of almost certain death" during the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. Finn, a chief aviation ordnance man, used a machine gun at the former Kanoehe Bay Naval Air Station to fire at Japanese aircraft for two hours during the attack. He remained on duty for 18 hours despite receiving as many as 21 wounds. He retired as a lieutenant in 1956 and lived to be 100 before passing in 2010.

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