This "sailaway" cruise marked the end of a four-year construction period, during which thousands of men and women turned raw steel, pipes, wires and components into a high-tech 21st Century warship. Oscar Austin's construction started almost exactly four years earlier, with the first steel being cut on 19 July 1996. Her keel was laid on 9 October 1997, the ship was launched on 7 November 1998, underwent sea trials in late 1999 and early 2000, and was delivered to the Navy on 11 May 2000. The ship will be ceremonially commissioned 19 August 2000, although she was placed "In Commission, Special" soon after delivery.

As the first ship of the Flight IIA upgrade to the basic Arleigh Burke design, Oscar Austin introduces a number of new capabilities and sytems to the fleet. Most significantly, the ship has been extensively redesigned to accommodate two helicopter hangars, placed on either side of the after VLS. Other upgrades to the ships' aviation capabilities include addition of Recovery Assistance, Securing and Traversing (RAST) helicopter hauldown systems on the flight deck, relocation of the helicopter control station, and additional berthing for a full aviation detachment. To accommodate these changes there have been numerous other alterations, including raising the aft VLS and aft SPY-1D radar faces by one deck level, relocation of the Mk32 12.75 inch torpedo tubes, deletion of Harpoon missiles and the SQR-19 towed array, and extensive internal rearrangements around the helicopter hangars.

Other changes in the Flight IIA upgrade include a new electrical system arrangement, survivability and damage control upgrades, new starting systems for the generators, and various other upgrades throughout the ship.

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