The US destroyer, the USS Russell DDG-59 on February 17, 2021, sailed into the South China Sea
According to Reuters, the destroyer USS Russell sailed near the Spratly Islands after a joint exercise between the two US carrier strike groups Theodore Roosevelt and Nimitz, also in the South China Sea.
Earlier, on February 5, another US warship, the destroyer USS John S. McCain (DDG-56), also moved through the waters for the first time since US President Joe Biden took power.
USS Russell is an Arleigh Burke class destroyer. Its special feature is the Aegis combat system, which can command a variety of anti-aircraft missiles to attack targets. DDG-59 is the second US ship to carry the name Russell, named after John Henry Russell, Rear Admiral of the US Marine Corps.
USS Russell was ordered on February 22, 1990. The ship was built at the Ingalls Shipyard, launched on July 24, 1992, and was officially commissioned on May 20, 1995. Her homeport is at the Naval Base San Diego, California.
USS Russell has a full load displacement of about 9,000 tons. She has a length of 154 m, beam is 20 m, and draft is 9.4 m. USS Russell uses 4 General Electric LM2500-30 gas turbine engines, with a total capacity of 100,000 horsepower. The ship can reach a top speed of 56 km / h, the range of which is 8,100 km. The crew consisted of 23 officers, 24 non-commissioned officers and 291 sailors.
USS Russell is equipped with the entire upgraded Aegis combat system, giving the ship extremely powerful firepower, extremely fast processing speed in air defense as well as advanced electronic countermeasures. The ship is equipped with 6 Mk.46 anti-submarine torpedoes. The MH-60R submarine hunting helicopters onboard are capable of working at long range.
Like all modern warships, the USS Russell is fully armed with conventional weapons. A 127 mm naval gun in the bow. It can be used for anti-ship, land bombardment and even surface-to-air capabilities.
In addition, the ship was supplemented with two 25 mm chain guns and four 12.5 mm machine guns. There are two 20 mm Phalanx 1B CIWS, for defense against incoming threats such as small boats, surface torpedoes, anti-ship missiles and helicopters.
The USS Russell destroyer can coordinate with other warships to form a fleet defense umbrella, providing a greater range of defense. It is also provided data from E-2D Hawkeye early warning aircraft.
