U.S. Navy to commission 74th Arleigh Burke destroyer USS Harvey C. Barnum Jr. in early April 2026.

The US Navy prepares the commissioning of the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Harvey C. Barnum Jr. (DDG-124), as the ship departed Bath Iron Works and is heading to Naval Station Norfolk ahead of entering active service.

The future Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Harvey C. Barnum Jr. (DDG-124) departed Bath Iron Works on March 4, 2026, and is heading to Naval Station Norfolk ahead of commissioning in early April 2026. This Flight IIA Technology Insertion destroyer, built by General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, is also among the small number of U.S. Navy warships named after a living individual.
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The USS Harvey C. Barnum Jr. (DDG-124) is the 74th Arleigh Burke-class destroyer delivered to the U.S. Navy, and is also the last ship of the Flight IIA sequence before the transition to the Flight III variant, although the DDG-127 was ordered later. (Picture source: NAVSEA)

On March 5, 2025, the US Naval Sea Systems Command announced that the future USS Harvey C. Barnum Jr. (DDG-124), an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer built at General Dynamics Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine, sailed away from the shipyard and began the final stage before commissioning into the United States Navy. The vessel departed the yard on March 4 at 11:45 a.m., leaving Pier 3 and entering the Kennebec River channel while the crew dressed the rails as thousands of shipbuilders observed the departure. The movement marked the transition from shipyard construction and trials toward operational service as the destroyer headed toward Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, its assigned home port, where it is scheduled to be commissioned on April 11, 2026. 

The sailing followed the official delivery of the destroyer to the U.S. Navy on November 17, 2025, announced on November 19, which marked the formal transfer of the ship from the shipbuilder to the Navy after a sequence of at-sea and pier-side trials evaluating propulsion performance, combat systems integration, communications equipment, and navigation systems. The development of DDG-124 originates in the multi-year procurement program for Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. The contract associated with the ship was awarded on June 3, 2013, with a $644.3 million contract modification fully funding construction under Fiscal Year 2016 procurement. Construction activities began with the keel laying on April 6, 2021, at the Bath Iron Works shipyard, followed by the launch on September 27, 2023.

Martha Hill served as the ship’s sponsor during the launch ceremony. The vessel carries hull number DDG-124 and belongs to the later production batch of the Flight IIA variant known as the Technology Insertion configuration, representing a transitional production stage before the introduction of the Flight III destroyers. The destroyer is named after retired United States Marine Corps Colonel Harvey C. Barnum Jr., who received the Medal of Honor for actions during the Vietnam War after assuming command of his company, rallying scattered Marines under heavy fire, and leading an assault against enemy positions during the Battle of Ky Phu in December 1965. Barnum was born on July 21, 1940, in Cheshire, Connecticut, served in the Marine Corps for more than 27 years, and retired in 1989.

After leaving active duty, he served within the Department of the Navy as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Reserve Affairs and later as Acting Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Manpower and Reserve Affairs. He remains among the small number of living individuals for whom a U.S. Navy warship has been named. During the destroyer’s initial sea trials, he joined the crew and fired the first round from the ship’s 5-inch gun, linking the early operational testing phase to the ship’s namesake. USS Harvey C. Barnum Jr. belongs to the Flight IIA Technology Insertion subgroup within the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer program.

The Flight IIA configuration introduced several structural and operational changes compared with the earlier Flight I and Flight II ships, including the addition of two helicopter hangars and a flight deck capable of supporting two MH-60 helicopters, enabling expanded anti-submarine warfare and maritime surveillance operations. The hull length increased compared with earlier variants to accommodate the aviation facilities and other internal modifications. The Technology Insertion configuration retains the Flight IIA hull and propulsion design while incorporating system improvements intended to align the production line with technologies planned for later destroyers, allowing gradual integration of updated sensors and electronic systems while maintaining compatibility with the existing Aegis combat architecture.

The USS Harvey C. Barnum Jr. (DDG-124) destroyer has a full-load displacement of 9,217 tons, an overall length of 513 feet or 156 meters, and a beam of 66 feet or 20 meters. Propulsion is provided by four General Electric LM2500 gas turbines delivering a combined output of 100,000 shaft horsepower, driving two shafts and enabling a maximum speed of 31 knots, equivalent to 57 kilometers per hour or 36 miles per hour. The ship’s complement consists of about 380 officers and enlisted personnel responsible for navigation, engineering, combat operations, aviation support, and ship maintenance. Aviation facilities include a flight deck and a double hangar supporting two MH-60R Seahawk helicopters used for anti-submarine warfare, surface surveillance, search and rescue, and maritime security missions.

The ship’s weapons configuration combines missile, gun, and anti-submarine systems integrated with the Aegis combat system. The forward armament includes a 5-inch 127 mm Mk 45 Mod 4 naval gun capable of engaging surface targets, shore targets, and certain aerial threats. Close-range defense is provided by one 20 mm Phalanx close-in weapon system, supported by two Mk 38 25 mm machine gun systems and four .50 caliber heavy machine guns used for protection against small surface threats. The ship carries a Mk 41 vertical launching system consisting of one 32-cell module and one 64-cell module for a total of 96 missile launch cells.

These cells can deploy RIM-66M and RIM-156 surface-to-air missiles, RIM-174A Standard ERAM missiles, RIM-161 anti-ballistic missiles, quad-packed RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow missiles, BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missiles for land attack missions, and RUM-139 vertical launch ASROC anti-submarine rockets. Two Mark 32 triple torpedo tube mounts allow the launch of Mark 46, Mark 50, and Mark 54 lightweight torpedoes against submarine threats. For now, the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer program remains one of the longest-running surface combatant construction efforts in the history of the United States Navy.

The class entered service in 1991 and continues to form the core of the Navy’s destroyer fleet with 99 ships planned in total across all production batches, also known as Flights. The Flight I includes 21 ships (hull numbers DDG-51 through DDG-71) commissioned between 1991 and the late 1990s. The Flight II variant includes 7 ships, covering DDG-72 through DDG-78, incorporating incremental improvements to sensors, communications, and electronic warfare systems. The Flight IIA variant represents the largest segment with 34 active ships, covering DDG-79 through DDG-124 and DDG-127, and introducing structural changes such as helicopter hangars and expanded aviation facilities that were absent on the earlier flights. The Flight IIA Restart group includes 3 ships, constructed after the production line was reopened following the reduction of the Zumwalt-class program.

The Flight IIA Technology Insertion subgroup includes 8 ships, incorporating selected upgrades intended to prepare the transition toward the next and most recent variant. The Flight III, currently represented by 1 ship in active service (the USS Jack H. Lucas), introduced new radar and power-generation systems. Construction of the class continues at two shipyards in the United States, Bath Iron Works in Maine and Ingalls Shipbuilding in Mississippi. At Bath Iron Works, seven additional Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are currently under construction: Louis H. Wilson Jr. (DDG-126), Patrick Gallagher (DDG-127), William Charette (DDG-130), Quentin Walsh (DDG-132), John E. Kilmer (DDG-134), Richard G. Lugar (DDG-136), and J. William Middendorf (DDG-138). Patrick Gallagher belongs to the same Flight IIA Technology Insertion group as DDG-124, while the other ships listed are Flight III destroyers.

Written by Jérôme Brahy

Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Ukraine, Russia, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.