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USS John S. McCain (DDG-56)

1994 MODERN NAVY

History of the USS John S. McCain (DDG-56)

The USS John S. McCain is just one part of the large and highly critical guided missile destroyer known as the Arleigh Burke-class in service with the modern United States Navy (USN). There are currently (2017) more than 65 vessels in this class, of which about 76 were originally planned for purchase.

In Navy parlance, destroyers are deployed in fleet support operations or can be called to operate independently. Relatively compact to maintain maneuverability, their history stems from turn-of-the-century "torpedo boat destroyers"ships tasked with protecting capital ships from more agile enemy torpedo boats.

Today, the destroyer has evolved to offer a full suite of missiles and advanced technology as well as traditional projectile-based weapons, giving it its official designation as a guided-missile destroyer (hull designation "DDG").

USS John S. McCain (DDG-56) is named after the grandfather and father of current US Senator John McCain (John S. McCain III). Both were long-serving Navy personnel, and the senator also became a Navy pilot.

The warship was ordered on December 13, 1988 and built on September 3, 1991 by Bath Iron Works, Maine. She was launched on September 26, 1992, and entered service on July 2, 1994.

She is currently (since 1997) homeported in Yokosuka, Japan (though she was originally assigned to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii) and fights under the motto "Fate is on the Brave". Her deployment in the Pacific has made her into those very powerful characters. important international waters.

McCain displaces 6,900 tonnes at light load and 9,000 tonnes at full load. Her length is 505 feet and her beam is 66 feet. Draft is 31 feet. Power comes from 4 General Electric LM2500-30 series gas turbines for a total of 100,000 hp driving 2 shafts under the stern.

Under ideal conditions, the warship can reach a speed of more than 30 knots and a range of 4,400 nautical miles. There are approximately 280 personnel on board, consisting of NCOs, non-commissioned officers and sailors.

The warship is equipped with modern and advanced technology: AN/SPY1D 3D as main radar equipment, AN/SPY-67(V)2 is a surface search unit 12 units next to AN/SPS-73(V). AN/SPG-62 is responsible for fire control, AN/SQS-53C is the main sonar array, and AN/SQR-19 is the towed array model. The ship is also equipped with AN/SQQ-28 LAMPS III. For self-defense, there are the MK 36 Mod 12 decoy launchers and the AN/SLQ-25 "Nixie" torpedo countermeasure kit.

AN/SLQ-32(V)2 covers Electronic Warfare (EW).

The weapons suite is led by 29 and 61 cells of the Mk 41 Vertical Launch System (VLS) supporting the RIM-156 SM-2 Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM), the BGM-109 Tomahawk. Cruise missiles and RUM-139 VL-ASROC missiles. In total, about ninety rockets were carried. Additionally, 2 x Mk 141 Series Harpoon Anti-Ship Missile (ASM) launchers are located amidships to counter surface threats. More conventional weapons include a 5"/54 caliber Mark 45 deck gun and turret, 2 x 25mm chain guns and 4 x 12.7mm machine guns.

Carry 32 torpedo tubes for close range threats from submarines and surface combatants.

Above the stern of the warship is a full flight deck and hangar facility providing onboard capability for the launch, recovery and maintenance of up to 2 Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk naval helicopters. These LAMP-equipped helicopters provide the vital beyond-visual-range capability to find, track and engage enemy submarines and warships alongside the USS McCain.

The USS John S. McCain's first call was Operation Iraqi Freedom, the 2003 US "shock and awe" movement that eventually ousted the Iraqi leader after the events of September 11, 2003 Saddam Hussein. The warship fired a salvo of thirty-nine Tomahawk cruise missiles as inland targets, with good results.

The warship subsequently won several "Sea Battle E" awards.

In 2011, the warship was called to aid the victims of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake in Japan. From there, she was deployed to South Korean waters in 2013 to help deter North Korea's nuclear ballistic missile efforts. The training took place in 2014.

October 2016 - USS John S. McCain joins USS Frank Cable as the first U.S. Navy warship to call at a Vietnamese port since the end of the Vietnam War (1955-1975). Now that China is a rising and assertive power in the region, relations between former enemies have thawed.

As a result, smaller naval powers have asked the U.S. Navy to help curb Chinese expansion in the regionespecially in the South China Sea.

August 2017 - The aircraft carrier USS John S. McCain, which continues to operate in the South China Sea, was spotted about 12 miles off the coast of a Chinese-built artificial island. The move reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to the region, to the delight of its regional allies.