USS George M. Neal

	Graphical depiction of USS George M. Neal (DDG-131)
History
United States
Name	George M. Neal
Namesake	George M. Neal
Awarded	27 September 2018
Builder	Huntington Ingalls Industries
Laid down	15 December 2023
Launched	1 April 2026
Sponsored by	Kelley Neal Gray
Identification	Hull number: DDG-131
Status	Launched
General characteristics
Class & type	Arleigh Burke-class destroyer
Displacement	9,217 tons (full load)
Length	510 ft (160 m)
Beam	66 ft (20 m)
Propulsion	4 × General Electric LM2500 gas turbines 100,000 shp (75,000 kW)
Speed	31 knots (57 km/h; 36 mph)
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 in (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 an Arleigh Burke-class (Flight III) Aegis guided missile destroyer of the United States Navy, the sixth Flight III variant.^[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.^[4] 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.^[5] She was launched on April 1, 2026 ^[6]

References

1 2 "George M. Neal (DDG 131)". Naval Vessel Register. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
1 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.
1 2 3 4 5 "DDG-51 Arleigh Burke-class". Federation of American Scientists. FAS.org. 2 November 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
↑ "SECNAV Names Destroyer in Honor of US Navy, Korean War Veteran" (Press release). United States Navy. 26 March 2019. NNS190326-09. Archived from the original on March 26, 2019. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
↑ "HII Begins Fabrication of Destroyer George M. Neal (DDG 131)". hii.com (Press release). Huntington Ingalls Industries. 6 December 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2024.
↑ "HII Launches Flight III Destroyer George M. Neal (DDG 131)". hii.com (Press release). Huntington Ingalls Industries. 6 December 2021. Retrieved 3 April 2026.