Latest news with #ArleighBurke-class
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group to return after 9-month deployment
NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — The Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group will begin returning to their respective homeports following a nine-month deployment. The strike group includes USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75), Ticonderoga-class cruiser USS Gettysburg (CG 64), Arleigh Burke-class destroyers USS Stout (DDG 55) and USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109) of Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 28, and Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 1 with nine embarked squadrons. The USS Stout and the Truman will return Sunday, per a news release issued Thursday. During the deployment, the USS Harry Truman collided with another vessel near Egypt, a F-18 Super Hornet fell overboard during an attack by the Houthis and the USS Gettysburg mistakenly fired another Super Hornet. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
A US Navy captain tells BI his heart was racing when his warship came under Houthi fire for the first time
The US Navy destroyer USS Stockdale came under Houthi fire multiple times last year. The Stockdale's captain, then the executive officer, described to BI what it was like to battle the rebels. He said his heart was racing and that seeing the warship's missiles launch was "unlike anything else." Cdr. Jacob Beckelhymer remembers vividly the first time his warship came under attack in the Red Sea. It was late September of last year, and the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Stockdale was already several months into its lengthy Middle East deployment. Beckelhymer, then the warship's executive officer, knew that the ship and its sailors could be pulled into combat at any moment against the Iran-backed Houthis who had been launching missiles and drones into shipping lanes. "We went into it with the expectation that there was a high probability that we would come under fire," he told Business Insider in a recent interview. When the attack came, the destroyer was prepared. Sailors had received their pre-briefing, and the crew was well-rested. The watch teams were ready. That day, the Houthi rebels fired a barrage of missiles and drones. Beckelhymer was in the pilot house with the warship's commanding officer and watched as the bridge team, from lieutenants down to junior sailors, performed as they were trained. He said he experienced a heart rate increase and some excitement. Seeing a surface-to-air missile come out of the launchers for real, and not in a training scenario, is "unlike anything else." Beckelhymer recalls thinking about his composure. He briefly thought about how he'd always wanted to teach his eldest daughter how to ride a bike. The most pressing thought, though, was that the destroyer needed to make it home. A mix of Navy warships in the Red Sea, including the Stockdale, thwarted the Houthi attack. Beckelhymer said that "the biggest takeaway" for him "was how quickly we did the things that we were supposed to, we reset, and then we all got back on the same page to do it again." The Stockdale came under Houthi fire several times during its combat-packed deployment, which ended in February. The Navy said that the destroyer "successfully repelled" multiple attacks, shooting down a tough combination of drones and missiles and emerging unscathed each time. "The mission sets that we performed over there were a combination of standard missile defense, contested straight transit, and civilian escort," said Beckelhymer, who is now the Stockdale's commanding officer. "We had occasion to use weapons in defense of ourselves and ships in company a number of times. In all of those instances, the team responded really, really great," he told BI. "We didn't incur any sort of stress reactions. The overall resilience of the crew was great." Several weeks after Stockdale returned to its homeport in San Diego, the destroyer deployed again — this time to the waters off the coast of southern California, where, until recently, it supported the US military's southern border mission. Two other warships that fought the Houthis also participated in these operations. While the threat environment was different in the Pacific compared to the Red Sea, Beckelhymer said the approach to the mission was relatively similar, even if Stockdale's weapons system was placed in a different configuration. "It takes every single person on board this ship, all-in, every single day, to operate safely at sea," he said. "Whether you're off the coast of California or you're in the Red Sea, the business that we do is inherently dangerous. And flight operations, small boat operations, underway replenishment — all of those things take our collective focus." Beckelhymer said he saw his crew's confidence grow consistently from September until the end of the most recent deployment. The sailors, he said, had every reason to be proud of their abilities. Receiving the training is one thing, but it's another to be tested in real-world conditions and have everything validated. "We experienced that in the Red Sea, and I think we experienced that again over the last 40-ish days off the coast of California," he said. "When the Navy needs us, Stockdale is ready." Read the original article on Business Insider
Business Insider
24-05-2025
- General
- Business Insider
A US Navy captain tells BI his heart was racing when his warship came under Houthi fire for the first time
Cdr. Jacob Beckelhymer remembers vividly the first time his warship came under attack in the Red Sea. It was late September of last year, and the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Stockdale was already several months into its lengthy Middle East deployment. Beckelhymer, then the warship's executive officer, knew that the ship and its sailors could be pulled into combat at any moment against the Iran-backed Houthis who had been launching missiles and drones into shipping lanes. "We went into it with the expectation that there was a high probability that we would come under fire," he told Business Insider in a recent interview. When the attack came, the destroyer was prepared. Sailors had received their pre-briefing, and the crew was well-rested. The watch teams were ready. That day, the Houthi rebels fired a barrage of missiles and drones. Beckelhymer was in the pilot house with the warship's commanding officer and watched as the bridge team, from lieutenants down to junior sailors, performed as they were trained. He said he experienced a heart rate increase and some excitement. Seeing a surface-to-air missile come out of the launchers for real, and not in a training scenario, is "unlike anything else." Beckelhymer recalls thinking about his composure. He briefly thought about how he'd always wanted to teach his eldest daughter how to ride a bike. The most pressing thought, though, was that the destroyer needed to make it home. A mix of Navy warships in the Red Sea, including the Stockdale, thwarted the Houthi attack. Beckelhymer said that "the biggest takeaway" for him "was how quickly we did the things that we were supposed to, we reset, and then we all got back on the same page to do it again." The Stockdale came under Houthi fire several times during its combat-packed deployment, which ended in February. The Navy said that the destroyer "successfully repelled" multiple attacks, shooting down a tough combination of drones and missiles and emerging unscathed each time. "The mission sets that we performed over there were a combination of standard missile defense, contested straight transit, and civilian escort," said Beckelhymer, who is now the Stockdale's commanding officer. "We had occasion to use weapons in defense of ourselves and ships in company a number of times. In all of those instances, the team responded really, really great," he told BI. "We didn't incur any sort of stress reactions. The overall resilience of the crew was great." Several weeks after Stockdale returned to its homeport in San Diego, the destroyer deployed again — this time to the waters off the coast of southern California, where, until recently, it supported the US military's southern border mission. Two other warships that fought the Houthis also participated in these operations. While the threat environment was different in the Pacific compared to the Red Sea, Beckelhymer said the approach to the mission was relatively similar, even if Stockdale's weapons system was placed in a different configuration. "It takes every single person on board this ship, all-in, every single day, to operate safely at sea," he said. "Whether you're off the coast of California or you're in the Red Sea, the business that we do is inherently dangerous. And flight operations, small boat operations, underway replenishment — all of those things take our collective focus." Beckelhymer said he saw his crew's confidence grow consistently from September until the end of the most recent deployment. The sailors, he said, had every reason to be proud of their abilities. Receiving the training is one thing, but it's another to be tested in real-world conditions and have everything validated. "We experienced that in the Red Sea, and I think we experienced that again over the last 40-ish days off the coast of California," he said. "When the Navy needs us, Stockdale is ready."
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Guided missile destroyer named after Korean War hero spotted off Gourock
A UNITED States Navy vessel named in honour of American war hero has been spotted in the Firth of Clyde. USS Thomas Hudner's roles have involved anti-aircraft, anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare, as well as strike operations. (Image: Roy Elliott) The Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer was launched in April 2017, having been built at Bath Iron Works in Maine. Several members of the Greenock Telegraph Camera Club captured the vessel off Gourock earlier today. OTHER NEWS: She is named after US naval aviator Thomas Hudner, who received the Medal of Honor for his efforts to save the life of Jesse L Brown during the Korean War in 1950. Both men were on patrol near the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea when Brown's aircraft was struck by ground fire. Hudner, who was later promoted to captain in 1965, deliberately crashed his own plane on a snowy mountain in a bid to help him, but Brown succumbed to his injuries.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Keel laid for future guided-missile destroyer USS Quentin Walsh
May 20 (UPI) -- The keel for the future guided-missile destroyer USS Quentin Walsh was officially laid Tuesday in a ceremony at Bath Iron Works in Maine. It is the first time an Arleigh Burke-class ship will be built in honor of a Coast Guard member. The keel, the structure at the bottom of the ship's hull, represents the start of construction or birth of the ship. Madison Ann Zolper, the great-granddaughter of the ship's namesake Coast Guard Capt. Quentin Walsh, attended Tuesday's ceremony and welded the family's initials into the keel plate. "We are honored to mark the beginning of the construction for the future USS Quentin Walsh and celebrate his legacy with his family," said Capt. Jay Young, Arleigh Burke-class Destroyer program manager for PEO Ships. "DDG 132 will provide our Navy with critical strategic capabilities to support fleet readiness." The Arleigh Burke-class Flight III destroyer, designated as DDG 132, will feature upgraded air and missile defense radar to provide "enhanced war fighting capability to the fleet," according to the U.S. Navy. The destroyers are designed to fight air, surface and subsurface battles at the same time. Walsh, who died in 2000 and held various roles in the U.S. Coast Guard, was awarded the Navy Cross for heroic actions in the 1944 Battle of Cherbourg during World War II. Walsh's 53-man reconnaissance unit captured 750 German soldiers and freed 52 American prisoners of war. Walsh, who also served during the Korean War, was among those honored in France on the 75th anniversary of D-Day. "Capt. Walsh was a hero whose efforts during World War II continue to inspire, and his leadership in securing the French port of Cherbourg had a profound effect on the success of the amphibious operations associated with Operation Overlord," former Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer said at a 2019 ceremony in Cherbourg. That same year, Adm. Karl Schultz -- former commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard -- announced the USS Quentin Walsh. "Naming a future Navy destroyer after Capt. Walsh, the first Arleigh Burke-class ship to be named after a Coast Guard legend, highlights not only his courageous actions but the bravery of all U.S. service members involved in the D-Day invasion of Normandy," Schultz said in 2019, as the Navy on Tuesday celebrated the start of construction. "The keel laying of future USS Quentin Walsh (DDG 132) symbolizes the Navy's 250-year commitment to innovation and maritime dominance," the U.S. Navy said in a statement. "This milestone marks the Navy's enduring legacy and commitment to shaping the future of maritime power."
