DDG 127 is in Norfolk. The future USS Patrick Gallagher, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, arrived at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, her home port, for the first time on Oct. 13, after her crew sailed her down from General Dynamics Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine, according to Commander, Naval Surface Force Atlantic.
She also closes out a version of the design. The Navy describes her as the final ship built in the class’s Flight IIA configuration, and the program has moved on to Flight III ships. She has not yet been commissioned, which is why the Navy still calls her the “future” USS Patrick Gallagher.
COMNAVSURFLANT Public Affairs announced the arrival in an Oct. 13, 2026 release distributed through DVIDS. “As the final ship built in the Flight IIA configuration, the warship integrates advanced anti-air, anti-submarine, and land-attack capabilities to protect carrier strike groups,” the release says.
The release also marks what the arrival means for the ship. “This event begins the ship’s transition from construction to the operational phase of testing and integration,” it says.
Delivered two months early
The Navy took the ship from the builder months before the trip south. In a June 1, 2026 release from the Navy’s Office of Information, published by Seapower magazine, the service said it accepted delivery of Patrick Gallagher from Bath Iron Works on May 28, 2026, more than two months ahead of schedule.
The Navy credited the early handover to builder’s sea trials that ran hull, mechanical, electrical and combat systems testing in series during one accelerated effort. An earlier delivery, the release said, gives the crew more time with the ship, extending training and certification timelines. Capt. Jay Young, the DDG 51 class program manager, credited “phenomenal coordination between the Navy and Bath Iron Works,” according to that release.
The hull and the numbers
The trade outlet WorkBoat, reporting the delivery on June 2, 2026, put the ship’s particulars on the record: 509 feet 6 inches long and 66 feet wide, driven by four General Electric LM2500 gas turbines producing 100,000 shaft horsepower, with a top speed of 31 knots. Flight IIA ships carry hangars for two MH-60 helicopters, the outlet reported.
WorkBoat also gave the ship’s build timeline. Construction began in November 2018, the keel was laid in March 2022, and the ship was christened in July 2024, according to its report, which described Patrick Gallagher as the 77th hull in the class. The outlet noted that the Navy is moving on to Flight III ships, which carry the AN/SPY-6 radar.
The christening took place at Bath on July 27, 2024, according to Bath Iron Works. The builder said the ship’s sponsors were Patrick Gallagher’s three sisters, Teresa Gallagher Keegan, Rosemarie Gallagher and Pauline Gallagher.
Cpl. Patrick Gallagher
The name belongs to a Marine. Cpl. Patrick Gallagher was an Irish-born Marine awarded the Navy Cross for his heroism in the Vietnam War, according to the COMNAVSURFLANT release. In 1966, the release says, he saved fellow Marines by kicking one enemy grenade away and diving onto another.
He survived that day. The release says he was killed in action one year later, days before he was scheduled to return home. The destroyer now in Norfolk is the first U.S. Navy warship to bear his name, according to the release.
The record stops at the pier for now. The Navy’s arrival release gives no commissioning date, so the next milestone for the final Flight IIA ship is the testing and fleet integration the release says her arrival began.