WASHINGTON, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Navy on Saturday christened Guided-Missile Destroyer Delbert Black in Pascagoula in the U.S. state of Mississippi.
"This ship represents the enlisted force perhaps more than any other ship in the Navy," Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Steven Giordano said.
The ship was the first to be named after the former Navy master chief petty officer, and the first to be named after someone holding that office.
The master chief petty officer of the Navy is the senior enlisted leader in the Navy and serves as an advisor to the chief of naval operations and the chief of naval personnel in matters dealing with enlisted sailors and their families.
Mrs. Ima Black, Black's widow, broke a bottle of sparkling wine across the bow to formally christen the ship.
The U.S.S. Delbert Black will be the 69th Arleigh Burke-class destroyer and is the fifth of 13 ships currently under contract for the DDG 51 program, the U.S. Department of Defense said in a statement.
The ship will be configured as a Flight IIA destroyer, which enables power projection, forward presence and escort operations at sea in support of Low Intensity Conflict/Coastal and Littoral Offshore Warfare, as well as open ocean conflict.
The U.S.S. Delbert Black weighs nearly 9,500 tons and is 155 meters tall, with four gas turbine engines that will power the ship to speeds in excess of 30 knots, according to the Pentagon.
