Tag Archives: USS Ramage (DDG 61)

Good news for Burkes old and new, while a (barely) five-year-old LCS is mothballed

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First the bad.

The Freedom-variant littoral combat ship USS Sioux City (LCS 11) was decommissioned in Mayport on Monday. Built by Fincantieri Marinette Marine in Marinette, Wisconsin, Sioux City was the first ship named for the Iowa city and commissioned 17 November 2018, at the Naval Academy. In all, she was only in service for 4 years, 8 months, and 28 days, most of which was assigned to the Florida-based Littoral Combat Ship Squadron Two.

MARTINIQUE, FRANCE (June 23, 2021) The Freedom-variant littoral combat ship USS Sioux City (LCS 11) conducts a bilateral maritime exercise with the French Navy Floréal-class frigate FS Germinal (F735) following a port visit to Martinique, France, June 23, 2021. Sioux City is deployed to the U.S. 4th Fleet area of operations to support Joint Interagency Task Force South’s mission, which includes counter-illicit drug trafficking missions in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Marianne Guemo)

As the Navy just plain doesn’t want these ships anymore, and the Freedom-variant has an albatross of an engineering suite that seems almost totally doomed to fail at some point, she is now headed to the inactive fleet.

However, you can’t say that she didn’t have an active career during her short time in commission. Via the Navy:

Sioux City completed four successful deployments in December 2020, July 2021, December 2021, and October 2022. The ship deployed to U.S. Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Fleet, integrated with a carrier strike group, performed exercises with partner navies, and conducted joint maneuvers with other U.S. Navy warships. While deployed in 2022, Sioux City provided a maritime security presence enabling the free flow of commerce in key corridors of trade. Sioux City was also the first LCS to operate in U.S. Fifth and Sixth fleets across the Atlantic where they participated in counter-drug trafficking operations with the U.S. Coast Guard to seize over 10,000 kilograms of cocaine worth an estimated $500 million.

The fine citizens of Sioux City deserved better.

Old Burkes get extended

The news comes in tandem that a four-pack of early Flight I (no hanger, SLQ-32, two CIWS, Harpoon) Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers will be given further work to remain in service, stretching their service life beyond 35 years.

180720-N-OY799-0326 PHILIPPINE SEA (July 20, 2018) The guided-missile destroyer USS Milius (DDG 69) steams alongside the Navy’s forward-deployed aircraft carrier, USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), during a transit of the Philippine Sea. Ronald Reagan, the flagship of Carrier Strike Group 5, provides a combat-ready force that protects and defends the collective maritime interests of its allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kenneth Abbate/Released)

USS Ramage (DDG 61), homeported in Norfolk, VA, and USS Benfold (DDG 65), based in Yokosuka, Japan, have been extended by five years to FY 2035 and FY 2036, respectively.

USS Mitscher (DDG 57), also homeported in Norfolk, and USS Milius (DDG 69), homeported out of Yokosuka, have been extended by four years to FY 2034 and FY 2035, respectively.

This hits the feels personally as I was a “constructor plankowner” on all four of these tin cans I worked on each extensively while I was at Ingalls and even made it out on Ramage’s pre-commissioning tiger cruise.

Some of my personal snaps from the Ramage’s May 1995 tiger cruise

According to the Navy:

Each of these ships has received Aegis Baseline 9 upgrades through the DDG Modernization program. The program provided a comprehensive mid-life modernization to these destroyers, ensuring they have the right systems to remain capable and reliable to the end of their service life. Based on analysis by the Navy’s technical community, these extensions were feasible because each ship properly adhered to lifecycle maintenance plans and were well maintained in good material condition by their crews.

Ted Stevens hits the water.

Ingalls in Pascagoula this week announced the successful translation and launch of the Navy’s third Flight III Burke, the future USS Ted Stevens (DDG 128). She is set for her official christening this weekend.

HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division successfully launched the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer Ted Stevens (DDG 128). The ship will be christened Saturday, 19 August 2023 in Pascagoula, Mississippi. HII photo

HII photo

Ted Stevens is the 76th Arleigh Burke-class ship, and its name honors former U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, who served as a pilot in World War II and later as a U.S. senator representing Alaska. At the time he left office in 2009, he was the longest-serving Republican U.S. senator in history.

Ingalls has delivered 35 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers to the U.S. Navy including the first Flight III, USS Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125), in June of this year. In addition, Ingalls Shipbuilding has four Flight IIIs currently under construction and was awarded an additional six destroyers earlier this month. Ted Stevens will be christened Saturday, Aug. 19, while Jeremiah Denton (DDG 129), George M. Neal (DDG 131), and Sam Nunn (DDG 133) are also under construction at Ingalls.

Flattops (and drones) Making Waves

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After what must have been a staggering yard period for the crew, the sixth Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, USS George Washington (CVN 73), has finally been redelivered to the Navy after 2,120 days at Newport News, wrapping up its mid-life refueling and complex overhaul (RCOH). Importantly, the carrier also now has new C4ISR systems, radars, and upgrades for full F-35 capability.

The RCOH represents 35 percent of all maintenance and modernization in an aircraft carrier’s service life and GW was pulled offline in 2017 originally for what was scheduled to be a four-year yard event, which ran seven due to COVID, “supply chain issues” and the like.

NNS made sure to work in a victory lap, because, well, at least it’s over.

“Redelivering George Washington to the Navy is the end result of incredible teamwork between our shipbuilders, the CVN 73 crew, our government partners, and all of our suppliers,” said Todd West, NNS vice president, of in-service aircraft carrier programs. “George Washington has gone through a transformation and now returns to the fleet as a fully recapitalized ship, ready to support any mission and serve our nation for another 25 years.”

In related news, the first Ford-class supercarrier, CVN-78, just made the first visit by an American flattop to NATO member Norway in 65 years, escorted up the fjord by His Norwegian Majesty’s Ship (HNoMS) Roald Amundsen (F311) as the GRFCSG Surface Warfare Commander. Of course, this came during a scheduled meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs in Oslo.

The flagship USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) transits the Oslo fjord for its first port call in Oslo, Norway, May 24, 2023. Gerald R. Ford is the first U.S. aircraft carrier to pull into Norway in more than 65 years. (US Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Brian Glunt) Released.

This meant a round of community relations events and the opportunity to visit popular cultural and historical landmarks in Oslo, including the WWII War Sailors Monument near Akershus fortress.

They also got in some work with Standing NATO Maritime Group 1. Besides CVN-78, the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group consists of Carrier Strike Group 12, Carrier Air Wing 8, Destroyer Squadron 2, USS Normandy (CG 60), USS McFaul (DDG 74), USS Ramage (DDG 61) and USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116).

Meanwhile, in Portugal, the navy is proceeding with the Plataforma Naval Multifuncional, a new drone mothership project.

The video, which shows a roughly 10,000-ton ish LPH-style vessel complete with a ski-jump and what looks like MQ-9B STOL drones, will be minimally manned but outfitted to launch and recover dozens of AUV, UUV, and USVs of assorted types along with helicopters and OTH-capable small boats. This is likely the future face of expeditionary naval aviation.

Speaking of which, the U.S. Navy just announced the first four “air vehicle pilots” completed flight training and earned their wings during a ceremony aboard NAS Pensacola on 25 May.

The four AVPs were winged at the National Naval Aviation Museum alongside a graduating class of Naval Flight Officers (NFO). The AVPs are the first service members authorized to wear the AVP warfare device.

The AVP warfare device is similar to traditional Naval Aviator wings but with an inverted delta displayed on a shield centered on two crossed anchors and flanked by wings. Service members qualified to wear this device will belong to a new community of aviation professionals who operate the MQ-25 Stingray and future UAVs. (Navy Photo by Ensign Elias Kaser).