#surface warfare

Ship killer....

PACIFIC OCEAN (August 30, 2020) -- Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Stuart (FFH 153) conducts a live Harpoon missile firing exercise....with the decommissioned (in 1994), unmanned, United States Navy amphibious cargo ship ex-USS Durham (LKA 114) supplied as the target of opportunity.

HMAS Stuart (FFH 153)....note the Harpoon canisters just behind the gun mount.

It’s not unusual for long-retired warships to be used for realistic target practice....after they’ve been cleansed of all toxic materials....and, then, sunk in carefully pre-determined locations.

The Harpoon missile is designed as a ship killer. After launch, it dives down and cruises near the surface of the ocean (to evade radar detection)....travels at 500+ mph (870+ kph) for up to 170 miles (270 km)....and carries a 500-lb (225-kg) impact warhead.

It’s a deadly accurate ship killer!

                                          ______________________

>>Note: In the second photo, that’s a B1RD (aka “seagull”) -- just below the Harpoon missile from this angle -- observing the launch.

>>Note: In the third photo, the Harpoon missile struck amidships on the starboard (right-hand) side....with the explosive force jettisoning out the port side of the stricken vessel.

Umbrella for the carrier….

ATLANTIC OCEAN (September 28, 2019) -- United States Navy guided-missile cruiser USS San Jacinto (CG 56) escorts nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69)....

....providing an electronic shield around and above the carrier....an umbrella, as such....extending out for hundreds of miles.

Cruisers like USS San Jacinto are primarily designed to provide air protection against inbound aircraft and missiles around the carrier....while destroyers provide surface protection against other warships....and frigates provide subsurface coverage against submarines.

(This is increasingly a generalization now, as the latest warships are being designed to assume much more versatile multi-mission roles as a matter of economy, efficiency, evolving technology, and emergent threats. But the “old” warship roles serve well to illustrate the layers of 360-degree protection surrounding an American aircraft carrier.)

                                         ________________________

>>CLICK the photo for a closer look....

Immersed in history....

An International Harvester aircraft tug sits intact in the hanger bay of United States Navy aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV 8) -- which was discovered in January 2019 in the South Pacific, resting on the ocean bottom nearly 17,500 feet (5,300 meters) below the ocean surface.

USS Hornet was sunk by Imperial Japanese Navy dive bombers and torpedoes during World War II’s Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands....on 27 October 1942.

She was  the last U.S. fleet carrier lost in action....

              USS Hornet (CV 8) headed into wartime action in 1942

                                     _____________________________

>>CLICK the top photo for a closer look....

Top U.S. admiral warns on Russia, China: ‘Be ready to fight NOW’

The U.S. Navy’s top surface warfare officer has issued a call to action — or a warning — to his crews: They need to develop a “sense of urgency” regarding the Russian and Chinese navies.

In an address to the Surface Navy Association in Washington, D.C., this week, Vice Adm. Richard Brown said that U.S. warship crews, for the first time since the Cold War, must make ready for aggressive actions by…

Ship-driving!

U.S. Navy Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Antietam (CG 54) maneuvers during a recent training exercise in the Pacific Ocean....

This was my life for the better part of my Naval career as a Surface Warfare Officer!

                          What a distinct honor and supreme pleasure!

                                     __________________________

>>Photo: Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Liam Kennedy, USN