Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer has approved Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida as the site for the commissioning of the future guided missile destroyer USS Paul Ignatius (DDG 117). The event will take place July 27.

The ship is named in honor of Paul Robert Ignatius, who served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, as Secretary of the Navy from 1967- 1969, and as Assistant Secretary of Defense during the Lyndon B. Johnson administration. 

DDG-117 is the U.S. Navy's 67th Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer and will feature the Aegis Baseline 9 combat system that will allow the ship to simultaneously patrol for ballistic missile threats as well as combat traditional air and cruise missiles threats.

The Navy accepted delivery of the ship from Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) Ingalls shipbuilding division, Feb. 22.

Accepting delivery of DDG 117 represents the official transfer of the ship from the shipbuilder to the Navy. Prior to delivery, the ship conducted a series of at-sea and pier-side trials to demonstrate its material and operational readiness. 

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