Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) marks the keel of the destroyer Thad Cochran (DDG 135)

At Ingalls Shipbuilding of HII in Pascagoula, the keel of the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer "Thad Cochran" (DDG 135) was marked with the initials of the godparents on 23 October.

This refers to the laser marking on the keel. The ship is named after Thad Cochran, a Navy veteran and former US senator who represented Mississippi from 1978 to 2018. Attendees at the ceremony included Cochran's wife and ship's sponsor Kay Webber, Bowen Cochran and representatives from the shipyard. Thad Cochran was a supporter of the US military. Throughout his career, Cochran championed key national security priorities, secured critical defence funding for shipbuilding across the country and in Mississippi, and played a critical role in providing billions in reconstruction aid to Mississippi following Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

The welder Thomas Ward welded the initials of the namesake and godfather onto a steel plate, which means that the keel of the DDG 135 was "truly and fairly laid". The plate is attached to the ship and remains there for its entire service life. "Thad Cochran" (DDG 135) is one of five Flight III destroyers currently under construction at Ingalls and represents the next generation of surface combatants for the U.S. Navy, featuring a number of design changes that together have significantly improved performance. To date, Ingalls has delivered 35 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, including the first Flight III, USS "Jack H. Lucas" (DDG 125), and is currently building the "Ted Stevens" (DDG 128), which recently completed her initial trials. Together they are the: "Jeremiah Denton" (DDG 129), "George M. Neal" (DDG 131), "Sam Nunn" (DDG 133) and "Thad Cochran" (DDG 135).

As the largest manufacturing employer in Mississippi, HII has been designing, building and maintaining amphibious ships and destroyers for the U.S. Navy for more than 135 years. The shipyard group is the largest military shipbuilder in the country and employs approximately 44,000 people.