USS Thomas Hudner

The USS Thomas Hudner (DDG-116) is a planned. The $663 million contract to build her was awarded on 28 February 2012 to Bath Iron Works of Bath, Maine. On 7 May 2012, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced the ship's named to be Thomas Hudner in honor of U.S. naval aviator Thomas Hudner, who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in trying to save the life of his wingman, Ensign Jesse L. Brown, during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir in the Korean War.

Thomas Hudner is to be the 66th ship of the Arleigh Burke class of destroyers, the first of which, USS Arleigh Burke (DDG-51), was commissioned in July 1991. With 75 ships planned to be built in total, the class has the longest production run for any U.S. Navy surface combatant. As an Arleigh Burke-class ship, Thomas Hudner's roles included anti-aircraft, anti-submarine, and anti-surface warfare, as well as strike operations. During it long production run, the class was built in three flights—Flight I (DDG-51–DDG-71), Flight II (DDG-72–DDG-78), and Flight IIA (DDG-79– ). Thomas Hudner is to be a "Technology Insertion" ship with elements of the next generation of Arleigh Burke class destroyers, called Flight III, and Flight III proper is planned to start with DDG-122.

In 2008, the U.S. Navy decided to restart production of the Arleigh Burke class as orders for the were reduced from ten to three. The first three ships (DDG-113—DDG-115) ordered following the product decision are known as the "restart" ships, while "technology insertion" ships (DDG-116—DDG-121) are expected to incorporate certain elements of Arleigh Burke class Flight III, which in turn is planned to run from DDG-122 onwards.