General Dynamics Bath Iron Works Lays Keel of DDG 115, Starts Fabrication on DDG 118

This week, General Dynamics Bath Iron Works celebrated two milestone events for the Arleigh Burke-class program. On October 30, Bath Iron Works held a keel laying ceremony for the Rafael Peralta (DDG 115), the company’s 35th Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer.

The ship is named for Sgt. Rafael Peralta, U.S. 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 at the age of 25.

Sgt. Peralta’s mother, Rosa Peralta, and his sisters, Icela Peralta Donald and Karen Peralta, authenticated the keel at Bath Iron Works on October 30. Rosa Peralta is the ship’s sponsor.

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