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Navy commissions destroyer USS Ted Stevens in Alaska

The Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, built around the SPY-6 radar and Aegis Baseline 10, entered service Oct. 3 in Whittier and will be homeported in Norfolk, Va.

Motion Media News Staff

Oct 6, 2026

2 minutes

Sailors in dark coats and white covers line the rails of a gray destroyer above a banner reading USS Ted Stevens (DDG 128), Lead with Courage, with snow-dusted mountains and low clouds behind.

Photo: U.S. Navy / MC1 Chelsea D. Daily, via DVIDS (source)

USS Ted Stevens (DDG 128), a guided-missile destroyer, entered active Navy service on Saturday, Oct. 3, at a ceremony in Whittier, Alaska, the service said. The ship is a Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, the newest version of the class.

Hung Cao, the acting secretary of the Navy, formally commissioned the ship. "Today, USS Ted Stevens is no longer preparing to join the fleet. Today, Ted Stevens is the fleet," Cao said, according to the Navy.

The ship's sponsors, Catherine Ann Stevens, the late senator's widow, and his daughters Susan Stevens Covich and Lily Stevens Becker, then gave the traditional order to "man our ship and bring her to life," and the crew ran aboard to man the rails, the Navy said.

The ship

Its core systems are the Aegis Baseline 10 combat system and the AN/SPY-6(V)1 radar, which the Navy said lets it handle air warfare and ballistic missile defense at the same time. Naval News also reported the radar and combat system fit.

Adm. Steve Koehler, who leads the U.S. Pacific Fleet, told the crowd the ship is No. 78 in the Arleigh Burke class, Alaska News reported. Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss., won the work in 2018 as one of six destroyers under a $5.1 billion contract, and the ship reached Norfolk in May, the outlet said.

Capt. Mary Katey Hays, the ship's first crew member, commands a crew of about 340, according to Alaska News. "We are ready to answer our nation's call," Hays said, per the Navy.

The name and the place

Ted Stevens flew transport missions over "The Hump" in the China-Burma-India theater as an Army Air Forces pilot in World War II and earned two Distinguished Flying Crosses, the Navy said. He represented Alaska in the Senate from 1968 to 2009 and served as president pro tempore.

The Navy said it chose the deep-water port of Whittier to highlight Alaska's maritime importance and its role in homeland defense. It was the first Navy commissioning held in Alaska since the 2013 ceremony for USS Anchorage, Alaska News reported. Alaska's congressional delegation and Gov. Mike Dunleavy spoke at the ceremony, the outlet reported.

What's next

After post-commissioning operations, the destroyer will sail to its homeport of Norfolk, Va., the Navy and Naval News reported. The ship is scheduled to call at Juneau from Oct. 7 to Oct. 10, according to Alaska News, citing a proclamation read at a Juneau Assembly meeting in September.