US Navy Destroyer USS Fitzgerald deployed on Missile Defense mission in Korean Peninsula

: Posted On Tuesday, 02 April 2013 08:01

Naval Forces News - USA

US Navy Destroyer USS Fitzgerald deployed on Missile Defense mission in Korean Peninsula

According to a Pentagon official, the US Navy deployed one of its Destroyers off the Korean Peninsula amid growing tensions with North Korea. USS Fitzgerald, who had sailed to South Korea recently to participate in joint military exercises, was sent to the south-west peninsula instead of returning to its home port in Japan, the official said, who wished to remained unnamed. This deployment is a cautious initiative that can offer "more options for missile defense if the need arises," the source added.

PACIFIC OCEAN (Oct. 25, 2012) The guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) launches a Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) as apart of a joint ballistic missile defense exercise.
(U.S. Navy photo/Released)

USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) is a is an Arleigh Burke-class (DDG-51) Flight I destroyer. It is capable to launch Raytheon's SM-3 missiles.

The SM-3 is a defensive weapon used by the U.S. Navy to destroy short- to intermediate-range ballistic missiles. The SM-3 destroys incoming ballistic missile threats by colliding with them, a concept sometimes described as “hitting a bullet with a bullet.” The impact is the equivalent of a 10-ton truck traveling at 600 mph.

DDG 51 multi-mission guided missile destroyers operate in support of carrier battle groups, surface action groups, amphibious groups and replenishment groups, providing a complete array of anti-submarine, anti-air and anti-surface capabilities. Designed for survivability, the ships incorporate all-steel construction and have gas turbine propulsion. The combination of the ships’ Aegis combat system, the vertical launching system, an advanced anti-submarine warfare system, two embarked SH-60 helicopters, advanced anti-aircraft missiles and Tomahawk anti-ship and land-attack missiles make the Arleigh Burke class one of the most powerful surface combatant ever put to sea.