The future Flight III Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer DDG 135 is named after the late Thad Cochran, a Navy veteran and United States senator who represented Mississippi from 1978 to 2018.
Born in Pontotoc, Mississippi, Cochran earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Mississippi, where he was a member of the Navy ROTC program. After serving the U.S. Navy, he returned to the University of Mississippi to earn a law degree.
While at Ole Miss Law School, Cochran returned to active duty in summers to teach military law and naval orientation at the Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island. Before retiring, he received a promotion to the rank of lieutenant.
After serving six years as a U.S. Congressman for Mississippi’s Fourth District, Cochran was elected to the United States Senate in 1978, becoming the first Republican in more than 100 years to win a statewide election in Mississippi. With over 45 years of combined House and Senate service, Cochran was the second longest-serving member of Congress ever from Mississippi.
As a member of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, Cochran worked to secure funding for critical military priorities while also advocating for funding to support the shipbuilding industry and the military defense installations across Mississippi.
Construction of the future USS Thad Cochran (DDG 135) began in November 2023. With the addition of DDG 135, Ingalls now has five Flight III destroyers under construction including Ted Stevens (DDG 128), Jeremiah Denton (DDG 129), George M. Neal (DDG 131) and Sam Nunn (DDG 133).
The Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyers incorporate a number of design modifications that collectively provide significantly enhanced capability including the AN/SPY-6(V)1 Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR) and the Aegis Baseline 10 Combat System that are designed to keep pace with the threats well into the 21st century.
