LONG BEACH : Guided Missile Destroyer to Be Commissioned
The Navy’s newest guided missile destroyer, the $800-million Curtis Wilbur, has arrived in Long Beach for commissioning ceremonies Saturday.
The warship will be the last vessel commissioned at the Long Beach Naval Station, which is scheduled to close Sept. 30 because of military cutbacks.
The ship, which was built in Maine by Bath Iron Works, is equipped with the Aegis Combat System that allows its crew to track more than 200 sea and air targets while simultaneously engaging those targets with the ship’s weapons. It is named after Curtis Wilbur, former Navy secretary and California Supreme Court justice.
Navy Secretary John H. Dalton will be the keynote speaker during commissioning ceremonies, which begin at 11 a.m. The ship’s home port is San Diego.
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