Keel authentication ceremony at Ingalls Shipbuilding

PASCAGOULA, Miss. (WXXV)- A Keel authentication ceremony at Ingalls Shipbuilding Tuesday marked a major step in the construction of a new U.S. Navy ship on the Coast.

With the flash of a welding torch, the future U.S.S. Philadelphia officially moved from plans on paper to progress in steel.

At Ingalls Shipbuilding, Navy officials gathered for the ceremonial keel authentication of the future U.S.S. Philadelphia, a San Antonio class ship. As part of the Navy tradition, ship sponsor Maureen Paparo, wife of Admiral Samuel Paparo, commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, welded her initials into a steel plate, signifying the keel has been truly and fairly laid.

The Philadelphia is one of three next-generation flight II ships under construction, designed to support missions from combat operations to humanitarian relief.