USS Rafael Peralta

USS Rafael Peralta (DDG-115) is the 65th ship of its class and an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer. The destroyer can operate with a Carrier Strike Group (CSG), Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG), as an element of a Surface Action Group (SAG), or independently. The ship can conduct a variety of missions in support of national military strategy. From peacetime presence and crisis management to sea control and power projection, 115 will be capable of carrying out Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD), Undersea Warfare (USW), Surface Warfare (SW), and Strike Warfare STW in multi-threat environments.[7]

USS Rafael Peralta (DDG-115)
Rafael Peralta at sea near Bath, Maine during her builder's sea trials, October 2016
History
United States
Name: Rafael Peralta (DDG-115)
Namesake: Rafael Peralta
Ordered: 26 September 2011
Builder: Bath Iron Works
Laid down: 30 October 2014[1]
Launched: 1 November 2015
Sponsored by: Rosa Maria Peralta
Christened: 31 October 2015[2]
Acquired: 3 February 2017[3]
Commissioned: 29 July 2017[4]
Homeport: Yokosuka[5]
Status: Active, in commission
Badge:
General characteristics
Class and type: Arleigh Burke-class destroyer
Displacement: 9,217 tons (full load)[6]
Length: 513 feet (156 m)[6]
Beam: 66 feet (20 m)[6]
Propulsion: 4 × General Electric LM2500 gas turbines 100,000 shp (75,000 kW)[6]
Speed: 31 knots (57 km/h; 36 mph)[6]

The $679.6 million contract to build her was awarded on 26 September 2011 to Bath Iron Works of Bath, Maine.[8][9] On 15 February 2012, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced the ship's named to be Rafael Peralta in honor of Marine Rafael Peralta, who was petitioned for the Medal of Honor for shielding several Marines from a grenade in November 2004 during the Iraq War; however, he was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross instead, after doubts regarding the exact sequence of events prior to his death were raised.[10][11]

Etymology

Rafael Peralta was born in Mexico City and immigrated to the United States as a child. Peralta joined the United States Marine Corps when he received his green card in 2000 and became a U.S. citizen while serving in the Marine Corps. Peralta was killed during the Second Battle of Fallujah in Iraq when he was wounded by small arms fire while clearing houses with his fellow Marines. The insurgents threw a hand grenade into the room. Despite being injured, Peralta pulled the grenade underneath his body (thus absorbing most of the blast), killing him instantly and saving his fellow Marines. For his actions, Peralta was recommended for the Medal of Honor but was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross instead.

Design

Rafael Peralta is the 65th ship of the Arleigh Burke class of destroyers, the first of which, USS Arleigh Burke, was commissioned in July 1991.[12] With 75 ships planned to be built in total, the class has the longest production run for any U.S. Navy surface combatant warship.[13] As an Arleigh Burke-class ship, Rafael Peralta's roles will include anti-aircraft, anti-submarine, and anti-surface warfare, as well as strike operations.[6] During its long production run, the class was built in three flights—Flight I (DDG-51 to DDG-76), Flight II (DDG-72 to DDG-78), and Flight IIA (DDG-79 onward).[14] Rafael Peralta is a Flight IIA ship, and as such, features several improvements in terms of ballistic missile defense, an embarked air wing, and the inclusion of mine-detecting ability.[6]

Construction and career

By January 2014, the aft portion of the ship had been completed and had begun outfitting[15] and she was laid down on 30 October 2014.[1][16]

The ship was christened on 31 October 2015 at Bath Iron Works.[2][17] In February 2017, the ship was accepted by the United States Navy.[3]

Rafael Peralta was commissioned in San Diego, California on 29 July 2017[4] and was homeported at Naval Base San Diego[18] before moving to Japan in 2021. Rafael Peralta held a change of command ceremony at Naval Base San Diego on 22 July 2019, as Cmdr. Aaron DeMeyer turned over the role of Commanding Officer to Cmdr. Chad Trubilla.[19]

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers Rafael Peralta and USS Russell (DDG-59) arrived in Sasebo for a port visit on 8 February 2020.[20]

Rafael Peralta joined HMAS Stuart, HMAS Sirius, KDB Darulehsan and RSS Supreme on their way to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in preparation for RIMPAC 2020 on 6 August 2020.[21]

Deployments
  • 17 January 2020 - 3 September 2020 - 5th/7th fleet - Maiden deployment

Rafael Peralta was used in the Amazon Prime Video series “Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan”, season 2 episode 8 in November 2019.[22]

References
  1. "General Dynamics Bath Iron Works Lays Keel of DDG 115, Starts Fabrication on DDG 118" (Press release). Bath Iron Works. 30 October 2014. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  2. "General Dynamics Bath Iron Works Christens Future USS Rafael Peralta" (PDF) (Press release). Bath Iron Works. 2 November 2015. Archived from the original (pdf) on 31 July 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  3. "Future USS Rafael Peralta Delivered to the Navy" (Press release). United States Navy. 6 February 2017. NNS170206-19. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  4. "USS Rafael Peralta Commissioned in San Diego" (Press release). United States Navy. 30 July 2017. NNS170730-01. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  5. "USS RAFAEL PERALTA DDG 115". 19 January 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  6. "DDG-51 Arleigh Burke-class". Federation of American Scientists. FAS.org. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
  7. "About DDG 115 – USS Rafael Peralta Commissioning". peraltacommissioning.org. Archived from the original on 6 August 2017. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  8. "Rafael Peralta (DDG 115)". Naval Vessel Register. Navy.mil. 1 November 2011. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
  9. "DDG 51 Class Ship Construction Contract Awards Announced" (PDF) (Press release). Naval Sea Systems Command. 26 September 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 March 2013. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
  10. "Navy Names Five New Ships" (Press release). U.S. Navy. 15 February 2012. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
  11. Cavas P., Christopher (15 February 2012). "Five New U.S. Navy Ship Names Announced". Defense News. Gannett Government Media. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
  12. "USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 51)". Naval Vessel Register. Navy.mil. 3 February 2011. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
  13. Sharp, David (31 December 2009). "After 2-plus decades, Navy destroyer breaks record". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Associated Press. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
  14. "Arleigh Burke Class (Aegis), United States of America". Naval-technology.com. Net Resources International. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
  15. Captain Mark Vandroff (13 January 2014). "Navy Benefits from Stable DDG 51 Program". Navy Live. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
  16. "Future USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115) Keel Authenticated" (Press release). United States Navy. 30 October 2014. NNS141030-25. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  17. Steele, Jeanette (2 November 2015). "Peralta: Ship christening 'bittersweet'". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
  18. "Navy taking ownership of the future USS Rafael Peralta". Navy Times. Associated Press. 3 February 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  19. "USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115)". United States Navy. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  20. Isaacs, Jason, MC2 (10 February 2020). "USS Rafael Peralta, Russell Visit Sasebo, Japan". U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. US DOD. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  21. Milne, Sandy (5 August 2020). "RAN commences exercises with warships from Singapore, Brunei". www.defenceconnect.com.au. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  22. O'Brien, Kathleen (22 November 2019). "Bath-built destroyer featured in television series". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved 2 June 2020.

Further reading


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