One of the United States destroyers in Spain shows the process of loading its missiles

Two months ago, the guided-missile destroyer USS Oscar Austin (DDG 79) joined the anti-missile shield at Naval Station Rota in Spain.

The United States Navy shows its new destroyer in Spain with a video in Spanish
Un portaaviones de EEUU atraviesa el Estrecho de Gibraltar junto a una fragata F-100 española

This destroyer, of the Arleigh Burke-class Flight IIA, was laid down on October 9, 1997 and launched on November 7, 1998, entering service in the United States Navy on August 19, 2000. It is a ship with a length of 155 meters, a width of 18 meters and a displacement of 9,200 tons.

The Oscar Austin was based in Norfolk, Virginia, the world's largest naval base, until two months ago. The ship arrived in Rota on October 15, making the Spanish naval base its home port.

The Oscar Austin carries an MH-60R Sea Hawk multipurpose helicopter, belonging to the second detachment of the Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 60 "Jaguars", based at NAVSTA Jacksonville, Florida.

The ship is named after Oscar P. Austin (1948-1969), a private first class in the U.S. Marine Corps who jumped on a grenade thrown by an enemy soldier during the Vietnam War, saving the life of a wounded comrade. Severely wounded, Austin still had the strength to cover his comrade with his body when a Vietnamese soldier fired at him, and was killed in action on February 23, 1969. For his heroism, he was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1970.

Yesterday, the US Navy released a series of photos taken on Tuesday, December 10, at the Rota Naval Base. They show something unusual.

These photos show the missile loading process on that ship. The Oscar Austin, like the other Arleigh Burke-class Flight IIA ships, carries 96 missile cells in its bow section (earlier ships of that class carried 90 cells).

These photos show the missile loading process on that ship. The Oscar Austin, like the other Arleigh Burke-class Flight IIA ships, carries 96 missile cells in its bow section (earlier ships of that class carried 90 cells).

The US Navy usually carries on board these destroyers RIM-66M, RIM-156 RIM-174A and RIM-162 ESSM type SAMs, as well as RIM-161 SM-3 anti-ballistic missiles, which have been in service for ten years and which, in addition to having the capacity to shoot down ballistic missiles, can also destroy satellites in low orbits.

The most common surface-to-surface missiles on these launchers are the famous BGM-109 Tomahawk, the most recent versions of which can reach targets more than 1,600 kilometers from the ship. The anti-submarine missiles are of the RUM-139 VL-ASROC type, with a range of up to 22 kilometers. The US Navy has not indicated what type of missile we see in this loading process.

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Photos: U.S. Navy.