Spain's government gives the green light for the stationing of two more U.S. Navy ships, bringing the number of U.S. destroyers stationed in Rota to six.
In 2014, the USA began permanently stationing a total of four Arleigh Burke-class destroyers (DDG 51-119, max. displacement of 9,700 tonnes) in Europe. The mission of this destroyer squadron is to implement NATO's strategic missile defence shield against ballistic missile attacks (National Missile Defence) in the Mediterranean region. It is currently permanently stationed in Rota (near Cádiz): USS Roosevelt (DDG-80 since 2020), USS Arleigh Burke (DDG-51 since 2021), USS Paul Ignatius (DDG-117 since 2022) and USS Bulkeley (DDG-84 since 2022).
The USS Oscar Austin (DDG-79) will be the fifth ship to move its home port from Norfolk/USA to Rota towards the end of summer 2024, the US commander of the Rota naval base said at a public meeting on Facebook in early December. A sixth, as yet unnamed destroyer will follow in 2026. This additional deployment is intended to address growing concerns about an increasing Russian submarine presence from the North Atlantic to the Mediterranean.
USS JACK H. LUCAS, a DDG of the Arleigh Burke class, during acceptance trials.
Photo: Huntington Ingalls
Naval Base Rota will deploy command personnel and officials to Norfolk in a timely manner to support the crew and their families during the upcoming relocation. At an initial meeting in November 2023, a newsletter was established for the sailors and their families to keep them informed. The multi-year stay of U.S. crews and their families in Spain is certainly not always easy, but somehow it is normality.
While the army is now preparing for the first time for the permanent stationing of a German brigade in Lithuania, the German navy could and should also prepare conceptually for such a scenario, e.g. as part of intensive utilisation. Such a demand does not seem so far-fetched in view of the US presidential election next year.
Source: Stars and Stripes
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