MARINETTE, Wis. (SPECTRUM NEWS) - The future USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul was christened and launched into the Menominee River Saturday morning. The vessel was built at the Fincantieri Marinette Marine Shipyard by a team led by Lockheed Martin, a global defense, security and advanced technologies company. 

The christening ceremony was quite a site to see with a star studded lineup on hand, including a military band and officers who shared their personal connection with the new vessel. 

"As an aviator, you may be saying that I'm a little out of place here at a ship ceremony, but as a helicopter pilot who has spent hundreds of nights aboard small combatants, I can tell you I feel right at home," said Naval Air Systems Command Vice Admiral Dean Peters. "When we go out to the ship, and you're all there oohing and ahhing at the sleek lines of the super structure, I'm gonna be eying that flight deck." 

One thing for sure was all eyes during the ceremony were watching the centuries long tradition of smashing a bottle of sparkling wine on the ships ball before it was launched into the Menominee River. 

"For the United States of America, I christen the Minneapolis-Saint Paul. May God bless this ship and all who sail in her," proclaimed the appointed Sponsor of the Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Deputy Under Secretary of the Navy for Policy, Jodi Greene. 

The ceremony brought in a crowd from across the country, with attendees saying they were honored to be there for the historic day. 

"We're very proud of the work he's doing, that FMM is doing, and we're very proud of our country," said Shane Allerd of Illinois who is the father of an intern at the shipyard. 

"It's very exhilarating and rewarding. I've been here sixteen years and every one of them kinda gives you the goosebumps," said shipyard electrician Gary Larsen. 

The new vessel is keeping shipbuilders very busy. She employed 2,500 builders in the last year and a half, and Lockheed Martin has plenty more work for the shipyard in the years ahead. 

"We have a good backlog. We have eight ships that are in production here in the yard, and those activities take us through to the 2026 to 2027 timeframe," explained Lockheed Martin Vice President of Small Combatants and Ship Systems Joseph G. DePietro. 

The Minneapolis-Saint Paul will be stationed in Marinette for about another year as onboarding construction continues. It will have to perform mandatory trials in Lake Michigan before being accepted into the Navy. Once accepted it will then officially be named the USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul, and will be dispatched on critical missions all over the world.