Tag Archives: USS Thomas Hudner (DDG-116)

The Realm of the Valkyries

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Official caption: “A sailor assigned to the USS Thomas Hudner attaches chains to an MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter during flight deck operations as part of Operation Epic Fury in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, 16 March 2026.”

Note the four-pack of AGM-114 Hellfires, which entered Navy service in 1998.

VIRIN: 260316-N-NO146-1066M (Released).

CENTCOM officials claim to have destroyed, sunk, or seriously damaged over 100 and possibly as many as 130 Islamic Republic of Iran Navy (IRIN) and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGC-N) naval vessels since the beginning of Epic Fury. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the smaller vessels were bagged via Hellfire.

An Atlantic Fleet Flight IIA Burke, USS Thomas Hudner (DDG-116), has been seen with MH-60s from the Jacksonville-based Valkyries of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 50 aboard, with a big .50 cal on the starboard side and a four-pack of Hellfires to port.

AN MH-60R Seahawk helicopter, assigned to Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 50, departs Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116) during flight operations while underway in the Caribbean Sea, Dec. 27, 2025. U.S. military forces are deployed to the Caribbean in support of the U.S. Southern Command mission, Department of War-directed operations, and the president’s priorities to disrupt illicit drug trafficking and protect the homeland. (U.S. Navy photo)

A U.S. Sailor, assigned to Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 50, performs clear and safe checks on a .50 caliber machine gun on an MH-60R Seahawk helicopter aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116), while underway in the Caribbean Sea, Dec. 27, 2025. U.S. military forces are deployed to the Caribbean in support of the U.S. Southern Command mission, Department of War-directed operations, and the president’s priorities to disrupt illicit drug trafficking and protect

A U.S. Sailor, assigned to Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 50, refuels an MH-60R Seahawk during flight deck operations aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116), while underway in the Caribbean Sea, Dec. 26, 2025. U.S. military forces are deployed to the Caribbean in support of the U.S. Southern Command mission, Department of War-directed operations, and the president’s priorities to disrupt illicit drug trafficking and protect the homeland. (U.S. Navy photo)

$2.5 billion per hull, grease pencil not included

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Official caption: “Keeping Tally. A sailor tallies launches as the USS Thomas Hudner fires a Tomahawk land attack missile in support of Operation Epic Fury in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, March 5, 2026.”

Note the columns for both TLAMS (43 marks) and SM-3ERs (9 marks); surely a story in two parts, while the fact that Hudner only has a 96-cell VLS is the third act of this tale.

260305-D-D0477-2924M.

The first Flight IIA (TI) Burke, USS Thomas Hudner (DDG-116), commissioned 1 December 2018, and the 66th hull of the class, and since joining the fleet, has been a SUFRFLANT asset, based in Mayport.

Her crew famously earned a Combat Action Ribbon for her time (October 2023 – April 2024) in the Red Sea during the quasi-war with the Houthis. You can bet a second one is inbound.

Marine Dets as Oil Tanker Shipriders in Persian Gulf?

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So Iran, or specifically the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, keeps getting increasingly rowdy, something that is cyclical (see Operations Earnest Will and Praying Mantis in 1987-1988 besides more modern incidents).

Most recently, the Aegis destroyer USS McFaul (DDG 74), supported by land-based MQ-9 Reaper drones and Navy P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, chased off two back-to-back Iranian attempts at shanghaiing the Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker TRF Moss and Bahamian-flagged oil tanker Richmond Voyager in international waters in the Gulf of Oman.

This has seen a surge in assets to the region including an additional destroyer (the newly commissioned USS Thomas Hudner, DDG-116) as well as USAF F-35 and F-16 fighters to help monitor the Strait of Hormuz.

Why no carrier?

Well, of the 11 in the Navy’s inventory, one, USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74), has been in a four-year Refueling and Complex Overhaul since 2021, another, the troubled USS George Washington (CVN-73), is just coming back online after her RCOH, and a third, USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) is in the middle of a PIA that will take several more months. USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) is set to undergo maintenance until December.

Of the remaining seven, four are in port in varying lesser maintenance/workup stages, and just three are underway. These include the Japan-based Reagan CSG in exercises with the America ARG along with the Australians and company in the West Pac, the Vinson CSG working up off the West Coast, and the Ford on her first “real” deployment to the Sixth Fleet where she is increasingly being used in conjunction with the Bataan ARG to apply pressure to the Russians via Syria et. al.

However, the Bataan’s embarked 26th MEU(SOC) has been cross-decking and moving ashore to CENTCOM in “distributed operations” in the region while part of the Marine force will remain on Sixth Fleet orders in European waters aboard USS Mesa Verde (LPD 19). The Marines, along with Fleet Anti-terrorism Security Team Company Central (FASTCENT), have been training in Bahrain “for potential shipboard roles protecting oil tankers and other commercial ships from Iranian aggression.”

NAVAL SUPPORT ACTIVITY BAHRAIN (July 03, 2023) – A U.S. Marine assigned to Fleet Anti-terrorism Security Team Company Central (FASTCENT) leads a team during close-quarters battle training at the U.S. Coast Guard Patrol Forces Southwest Asia Maritime Engagement Team training facility aboard Naval Support Activity Bahrain, July 03. FASTCENT provides expeditionary anti-terrorism and security forces to embassies, consulates, and other vital national assets throughout the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Angela Wilcox)

Stars and Stripes confirmed the plans for the shiprider program:

Marines newly deployed to the Middle East already are training for shipboard roles protecting oil tankers and other commercial ships from Iranian aggression, news that comes a day after U.S. officials told some media outlets they were considering the possibility of such a plan.

About 100 Marines have been training in Bahrain for specialized defensive teams that would travel briefly with commercial ships through and near the Strait of Hormuz, said a U.S. official speaking on the condition of anonymity with Stars and Stripes because they were not authorized to speak on the matter.

This reminds me of the unsung OIF Guardian Mariner shiprider program that protected the civilian mariner-crewed MSC cargo ships in the region back in 2003.

MSC crews owed thanks to the fleet force protection teams and the Guardian Mariner program for defending MSC ships against potential terrorist attacks from small boats. As the buildup for OIF began in January 2003, force protection teams from primarily the Army and Marine Corps provided shipboard protection for MSC ships. The first team was from the First Marine Expeditionary Force and reported aboard USNS Antares in late January. This was an interim solution for force protection until the Guardian Mariner program came into full operation.

Under the Guardian Mariner program, more than 1,300 Army reservists were activated to provide force protection and security aboard MSC ships sailing to and from Southwest Asia. The soldiers, from the Puerto Rico National Guard Unit 92nd Separate Infantry Brigade, were organized into 110, 12-person teams. They began reporting aboard MSC ships on 19 March 2003. In all, around 70 fleet force protection teams and 75 Guardian Mariner teams were used aboard MSC ships during OIF.

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).

So I went to see Devotion…

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I weighed in last week on the behind-the-scenes attention to detail of the new J. D. Dillard/Erik Messerschmidt Sony Pictures war biopic Devotion, focusing on the too-short life of Ens. Jesse Leroy Brown and his “Fighting Swordsmen” wingman, Lt. (j.g) Thomas J. Hudner Jr., who flew side-by-side at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir in the Korean War.

1950 photo of Fighting 32 (VF 32) ahead of USS Leyte’s Med deployment that soon became a Korean combat tour

If you missed that, the production went all-out, leasing real MiG-15s, F4U Corsairs, A-1 Skyraiders, and F8F Bearcats, then constructing an Essex-class straight deck carrier in a field to put them all on for static shots.

I mean, Dillard is the son of a Blue Angel and his first memory is touching the nose of his dad’s just-landed F-18– so what do you expect?

Said the director on his use of these vintage war birds:

It was by far the most meticulous part of the filmmaking process, but it was important to me aesthetically that we put as much realism in front of the camera as we could. There aren’t even enough of these period planes still flying to fill the skies in the way that we wanted to. But what we always prioritized is that the action happening closest to the camera was practical. That 17th plane, half a mile off, can totally be CGI. But the plane flying very close to the camera is a real Corsair painted with the real squadron’s letters and numbers, and there are real stunt pilots in those planes, executing real maneuvers. That was very important to me and ultimately worth the prep and the planning.

And, besides tapping in actor Glen Powell– who played the cocky “Hangman,” the modern Iceman substitute in the new Maverick movie– Dillard also used the same aerial photography team that worked on that project but with the benefit of fewer restrictions.

“I joke that they spent 200-plus million dollars on R&D, then came to work with us,” Dillard says. And since his film didn’t use modern U.S. Navy planes, he had more freedom. “There is significantly less red tape when you want to take that plane 15 feet over the water at more than 100 miles an hour and photograph it, which at one point we did,” he says. “There are also technical differences in photographing those aircraft… As a small example, you can’t put a camera directly behind an F-18, because there’s jet blast. But we could sit our camera plane right on the tail of the Corsair because it has a propeller — you’re not worried about the camera melting from the afterburner.”

With this lead-up, how could I NOT go see the movie on opening night last week?

I can report that it was a good film, that should be seen on the biggest screen possible to drink it in, full of amazing and unique warbird shots. As far as the plot, it is based on a true story and they stick to most of the real details with only minor deviations. The dialog was a little hokey at times but certainly not any worse than that seen in other modern war films.

As Brown was the first African-American U.S. Navy officer killed in action, he has long deserved a decent film telling his story and this is it. Going past that, it is entertaining and, while circling back to the racial elephant in the room several times, doesn’t make it the prime driving point of the film. I’m no movie rater but if you had to ask me, I’d give it at least an 8 out of 10 overall.

If you have some time to kill, you could find worse ways to spend two hours.

Perhaps it will lead to Brown getting a destroyer named after him. 

Speaking of which.

Welcome home, Hudner

Of interest, the SURFLANT-tasked Flight IIA Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Thomas Hudner (DDG-116), commissioned in 2018, just returned this weekend from the inaugural deployment of the Gerald R Ford Carrier Strike Group.

As detailed by the ship’s social media page:

-We sailed 15,148 miles,
-Conducted 7 replenishments at sea,
-Set 8 Sea and Anchor details
-Completed 2 Straits Transits
-Saw winds as high as 52 knots,
-Completed 78 flight quarters,
-Inducted 4 new Chief Petty Officers,
-Qualified 3 new Officers of the Deck, 2 new Tactical Action Officers, and 8 new Engineering Officers of the Watch
– Expended 52,266 rounds of ammo,
– Passed 1 Engineering Certification,
– Visited 2 new countries,
And made countless memories along the way.