USS Paul Ignatius

USS Paul Ignatius (DDG-117) is an Arleigh Burke-class (Flight IIA Technology Insertion) Aegis guided missile destroyer of the United States Navy. She is named for Paul Ignatius who served as United States Secretary of the Navy under President Lyndon Johnson from 1967 to 1969. Ignatius had previously served as a lieutenant in the Navy during World War II. Paul Ignatius is the second of eight planned Flight IIA "technology insertion" ships, which contain elements of the Flight III ships.

USS Paul Ignatius on 31 July 2019
History
United States
Name	Paul Ignatius
Namesake	Paul Ignatius[1]
Builder	Ingalls Shipbuilding
Laid down	20 October 2015[2]
Launched	12 November 2016[3]
Sponsored by	Nancy W. Ignatius
Christened	8 April 2017[4]
Acquired	22 February 2019[5]
Commissioned	27 July 2019[6]
Homeport	Rota
Identification	MMSI number: 368926407 Hull number: DDG-117
Motto	Always ready, fight on
Status	in active service
Badge
General characteristics
Class & type	Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, Flight IIA
Displacement	9,200 long tons (9,300 t)
Length	510 ft (160 m)
Draft	33 ft (10 m)
Propulsion	4 × General Electric LM2500 gas turbines 100,000 shp (75,000 kW)[7]
Speed	30 kn (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Complement	380 officers and enlisted
Armament	Guns: 1 × 5-inch (127 mm)/62 mk 45 mod 4 (lightweight gun) 1 × 20 mm (0.8 in) Phalanx CIWS 2 × 25 mm (0.98 in) Mk 38 machine gun system 4 × 0.50 inches (12.7 mm) caliber guns Missiles: 1 × SeaRAM CIWS 1 × 32-cell, 1 × 64-cell (96 total cells) Mk 41 vertical launching system (VLS): RIM-66M surface-to-airmissile RIM-156 surface-to-air missile RIM-174A standard ERAM RIM-161 anti-ballistic missile RIM-162 ESSM (quad-packed) BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missile RUM-139 vertical launch ASROC Torpedoes: 2 × Mark 32 triple torpedo tubes: Mark 46 lightweight torpedo Mark 50 lightweight torpedo Mark 54 lightweight torpedo
Aircraft carried	2 × MH-60R Seahawk helicopters
Aviation facilities	Double hangar and helipad

Paul Ignatius was launched on 12 November 2016,^[3][8] and was christened on 8 April 2017.^[4] She was commissioned on 27 July 2019 Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The ship was sponsored by Ignatius's wife Nancy before her death and that role was taken over by their granddaughter, Dr. Elisa Ignatius.^[6][9] Paul Ignatius is homeported in Rota, Spain.

Operational history

On 28 April 2022, Paul Ignatius departed Mayport, Florida, for a patrol in the US Sixth Fleet area of operations and a homeport shift to Naval Station Rota.^[10]

On 17 June 2022, Paul Ignatius arrived at her new homeport of in Rota, Spain.^[11] Her Phalanx CIWS was moved to the forward mount and she received the SeaRAM close-in weapon system on her aft mount.^[12]

In October 2022, Paul Ignatius conducted a routine patrol in the Baltic Sea, where she was accompanied by the support ship William McLean.^[13] After the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline sabotage the ship remained deployed there to safeguard regional energy interests and to guard the areas of the pipeline sabotage.^[14][15] During this period, she embarked personnel from diving, salvage, and explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) units to assist in security and assessment operations.^[16]