General Dynamics Christens US Navy's New Guided-Missile Destroyer

General Dynamics Bath Iron Works has christened the US Navy's newest guided-missile destroyer as Rafael Peralta (DDG 115) on Saturday.

The ship is named for Sgt. Rafael Peralta, US Marine Corps, who was deployed to Iraq in Operation Iraqi Freedom and was killed November 15, 2004, during the Second Battle of Fallujah in house-to-house urban combat, the company announced today.

The Saturday morning christening ceremony took place at Bath Iron Works' shipyard with the Commandant of the Marine Corps General Robert B. Neller as the ceremony's principal speaker.

The shipyard began fabrication on DDG 115 in November 2011, and delivery to the Navy is scheduled for 2016.

DDG 51 destroyers are multi-mission combatants offering defense against a wide range of threats, including ballistic missiles. It operates in support of carrier battle groups, surface action groups, amphibious groups and replenishment groups, providing a complete array of anti-submarine, anti-air and anti-surface capabilities.