USS George M. Neal

Not to be confused with USS George H. McNeal (SP-312), a WWI minesweeper.

Graphical depiction of USS George M. Neal (DDG-131)
History
United States
Name	George M. Neal
Namesake	George M. Neal
Awarded	27 September 2018[1]
Builder	Huntington Ingalls Industries
Laid down	15 December 2023[2]
Sponsored by	Kelley Neal Gray
Identification	Hull number: DDG-131
Status	Under construction[3]
General characteristics
Class and type	Arleigh Burke-class destroyer
Displacement	9,217 tons (full load)[4]
Length	510 ft (160 m)[4]
Beam	66 ft (20 m)[4]
Propulsion	4 × General Electric LM2500 gas turbines 100,000 shp (75,000 kW)[4]
Speed	31 knots (57 km/h; 36 mph)[4]
Complement	380 officers and enlisted
Armament	Guns: 1 × 5-inch (127 mm)/62 Mk 45 Mod 4 (lightweight gun) 1 × 20 mm (0.8 in) Phalanx CIWS 2 × 25 mm (0.98 in) Mk 38 machine gun system 4 × 0.50 inches (12.7 mm) caliber guns Missiles: 1 × 32-cell, 1 × 64-cell (96 total cells) Mk 41 vertical launching system (VLS): RIM-66M surface-to-air missile RIM-156 surface-to-air missile RIM-174A standard ERAM RIM-161 anti-ballistic missile RIM-162 ESSM (quad-packed) BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missile RUM-139 vertical launch ASROC Torpedoes: 2 × Mark 32 triple torpedo tubes: Mark 46 lightweight torpedo Mark 50 lightweight torpedo Mark 54 lightweight torpedo
Armor	Kevlar-type armor with steel hull. Numerous passive survivability measures.
Aircraft carried	2 × MH-60R Seahawk helicopters
Aviation facilities	Double hangar and helipad

USS George M. Neal (DDG-131) is a planned Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer of the United States Navy, the 81st overall for the class.^[1] She will be named in honor of Aviation Machinist’s Mate 3rd Class George M. Neal, a Korean War veteran and prisoner of war, who was a recipient of the Navy Cross.^[5] George M. Neal will be the sixth ship of the Flight III series. The sponsor is Kelley Neal Gray, daughter of Aviation Machinist's Mate 3rd Class Neal.^[2] Fabrication of the ship began on 2 December 2021.^[6]

References

1. "George M. Neal (DDG 131)". Naval Vessel Register. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
2. "HII's Ingalls Shipbuilding Authenticates Keel of Destroyer George M. Neal (DDG 131)". hii.com (Press release). Huntington Ingalls Industries. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 3 December 2024.
3. "GEORGE M NEAL (DDG 131)". Naval Vessel Register. Naval Sea Systems Command, Shipbuilding Support Office. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
4. "DDG-51 Arleigh Burke-class". Federation of American Scientists. FAS.org. 2 November 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
5. "SECNAV Names Destroyer in Honor of US Navy, Korean War Veteran" (Press release). United States Navy. 26 March 2019. NNS190326-09. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
6. "HII Begins Fabrication of Destroyer George M. Neal (DDG 131)". hii.com (Press release). Huntington Ingalls Industries. 6 December 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2024.

•  This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here.