The simultaneous replenishment of two US destroyers by a Spanish ship

Joint operations between ships of NATO member countries are a common practice that contributes to strengthening the Alliance.

The United States Navy shows its new destroyer in Spain with a video in Spanish
The Spanish Navy's intense review of its Aeronaval Amphibious Group 'Dédalo 24'

These operations include resupply maneuvers at sea by ships of one naval force to another. Last Saturday, November 16, the Spanish Navy and the US Navy carried out one of these maneuvers in the Mediterranean Sea.

In this case, the mother ship was the Spanish Navy's A-15 combat supply ship (BAC) "Cantabria", one of two ships of this type operated by this naval force. The "Cantabria" was launched on July 21, 2008, has been in service since July 29, 2010, and is based at the Ferrol Military Arsenal, in La Coruña. Here we can see an image of the Spanish ship seen from one of the American destroyers.

In this maneuver, BAC "Cantabria" simultaneously resupplied two American guided-missile destroyers, USS Arleigh Burke (DDG-51), on the port side (here we see it to the left of the Spanish ship), and USS Jason Dunham (DDG-109), on the starboard side (here we see its bow).

It must be said that the US Navy publishes the photos with an excellent resolution. Here we can see an enlargement of one of the photos that allows us to see the BAC "Cantabria" in more detail. As you can see, one of the new Airbus H135 P3H Nival helicopters of the 12th Squadron of the Spanish Navy was parked on its flight deck.

The guided-missile destroyer USS Arleigh Burke (DDG-51) is the first ship of her class. She was launched on 16 September 1989, commissioned on 4 July 1991, and is based in Rota, Spain, where she is part of NATO’s missile defense system, which includes several destroyers of her class.

The guided-missile destroyer USS Jason Dunham (DDG-109) is an Arleigh Burke IIA class ship. Launched on August 1, 2009, it has been in service since November 13, 2010 and is based in Mayport, Florida. It is part of the US Navy’s Destroyer Squadron 28 and has been attached to Carrier Strike Group 8, led by the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, since 2022.

The US Armed Forces' multimedia portal DVIDShub.net published yesterday this series of photos of this maneuver, which were taken by specialist Marieliza Rosales, of the US Navy.

These two images show the replenishment operation between the BAC "Cantabria" and the USS Jason Dunham. These operations are always risky, as they require both ships to sail at the same speed and in parallel, exposing them to attack in a war situation. When the maneuver involves three ships, the risk increases.

The USS Jason Dunham arrived at Rota Naval Base, Spain, on November 2, as part of a deployment with the U.S. Navy's Sixth Fleet in support of U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa. Below we can see an image of the USS Jason Dunham's arrival in Rota. In the background we can see the aircraft carrier "Juan Carlos I" L-61, flagship of the Spanish Navy.