USS Laboon

USS Laboon on 9 February 2010
History
United States
NameLaboon
NamesakeJohn Francis Laboon
Ordered13 December 1988
BuilderBath Iron Works
Laid down23 March 1992
Launched20 February 1993
Commissioned18 March 1995
HomeportNorfolk
Identification
MottoWithout Fear
Statusin active service
Badge
General characteristics
Class and typeArleigh Burke-class destroyer
Displacement
  • Light: approx. 6,800 long tons (6,900 t)
  • Full: approx. 8,900 long tons (9,000 t)
Length505 ft (154 m)
Beam59 ft (18 m)
Draft31 ft (9.4 m)
Propulsion2 × shafts
SpeedIn excess of 30 kn (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Range4,400 nmi (8,100 km; 5,100 mi) at 20 kn (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Complement
Sensors and
processing systems
Electronic warfare
& decoys
Armament
Aircraft carried1 × Sikorsky MH-60R

USS Laboon (DDG-58) is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer in the United States Navy. She is named for Father John Francis Laboon (1921–1988), a captain in the Chaplain Corps of the United States Navy, who was awarded the Silver Star during World War II while serving on the submarine USS Peto.

Laboon's keel was laid down in 1992 at the Bath Iron Works shipyard in Bath, Maine. She was launched in 1993, and commissioned in 1995.

Ship's history

Members of the visit, board, search, and seizure from the Laboon approach a target ship

Laboon's keel was laid down on 23 March 1992 at the Bath Iron Works shipyard in Bath, Maine. She was launched on 20 February 1993. Laboon was commissioned on 18 March 1995.

In the fall of 1996, she fired Tomahawk missiles at targets in Iraq, thus becoming the first Arleigh Burke-class destroyer to engage in combat.[4]

In 1998, Laboon took part in NATO Exercise Dynamic Response 98, together with USS Wasp's Amphibious Ready Group.[5]

On 12 September 2012, Laboon was ordered to the coast of Libya in what the Pentagon called a "contingency" in case a strike was ordered. This was in response to the 2012 diplomatic missions attacks.[6]

On 21 June 2015, Laboon entered the Black Sea along with the French ship Dupuy de Lôme as part of NATO's presence missions following the Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation.[7] While in the Black Sea, Laboon participated in joint maneuvers with a Romanian Navy Rear-Admiral Eustațiu Sebastian-class corvette for two days beginning on 22 June 2015.[citation needed] On 27 June 2015, Laboon began a two-day visit to the Black Sea port of Batumi, Georgia, to participate in training with the Coast Guard of Georgia and offer tours of the ship.[8]

On 14 April 2018, she fired seven Tomahawk missiles from a position in the Red Sea as part of a bombing campaign in retaliation for the Syrian government's use of chemical weapons against people in Douma.[9]

2023 Israel-Hamas war

On 14 October 2023, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin directed Dwight D. Eisenhower and her carrier strike group, which includes the cruiser Philippine Sea, along with Laboon, and sister-destroyers Mason and Gravely, to the eastern Mediterranean in response to Israel's war with Hamas.[10] This was the second carrier strike group to be sent to the region in response to the conflict, following Gerald R. Ford and her group, which was dispatched only six days earlier.[11]

On 23 December 2023, while patrolling in the southern Red Sea, Laboon shot down four unmanned aerial attack drones that originated from areas controlled by the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen and were inbound toward Laboon.[12][13]

On 26 December 2023, the USS Laboon shot down three anti-ship ballistic missile in the Red Sea fired by Houthi rebels with multiple SM-6. This was the first intercept of a ballistic missile in combat.[14]

On 6 January 2024, Laboon shot down a Houthi drone in the Red Sea.[15]

On Jan. 9, at approximately 9:15 p.m. (Sanaa time), Iranian-backed Houthis launched a complex attack of Iranian designed one-way attack UAVs (OWA UAVs), anti-ship cruise missiles, and an anti-ship ballistic missile from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen into the Southern Red Sea, towards international shipping lanes where dozens of merchant vessels were transiting. Eighteen OWA UAVs, two anti-ship cruise missiles, and one anti-ship ballistic missile were shot down by a combined effort of F/A-18s from Dwight D. Eisenhower, Gravely, USS Laboon (DDG 58), USS Mason, and the United Kingdom’s HMS Diamond. This is the 26th Houthi attack on commercial shipping lanes in the Red Sea since Nov. 19. There were no injuries or damage reported.[16]

On 14 January 2024, an anti-ship missile was fired in the direction of Laboon from a Houthi-controlled portion of Yemen, according to CENTCOM.[17]

On 2 February 2024, Laboon and F/A-18 Super Hornets from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower shot down at least 12 drones launched by Houthis over the Red Sea.[18]

On February 6, 2024 at 4:30 p.m., while patrolling in the Gulf of Aden, USS Laboon (DDG 58), operating near M/V Star Nasia, intercepted and shot down an anti-ship ballistic missile fired by the Iranian-backed Houthis.[19]

On 20 February 2024 at 12:30 a.m., while operating in the Gulf of Aden, Laboon detected and shot down one anti-ship cruise missile fired by the Houthis.[20]

Awards

References

  1. ^ "Mk46 MOD 1 Optical Sight System". Kollmorgen. Archived from the original on 30 November 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  2. ^ Rockwell, David (12 July 2017). "The Kollmorgen/L-3 KEO Legacy". Teal Group. Archived from the original on 29 May 2023. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  3. ^ Hart, Jackie (17 December 2023). "Decoy Launch System Installed Aboard USS Ramage". navy.mil. Archived from the original on 28 April 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  4. ^ "USS Laboon DDG-58 Arleigh Burke class Destroyer US Navy". www.seaforces.org.
  5. ^ ""1998 Composition and Organization of USS Laboon (DDG 58)"" (PDF).
  6. ^ "US moving Navy destroyers off coast of Libya". CNN. 12 September 2012. Archived from the original on 8 October 2022. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
  7. ^ LaGrone, Sam (22 June 2015). "Destroyer USS Laboon, French Surveillance Ship Enter Black Sea". USNI News. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  8. ^ "USS Laboon Missile Destroyer Visits Georgia". Georgia Today. 2 July 2015. Archived from the original on 17 February 2019. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  9. ^ Mehta, Aaron; Copp, Tara (14 April 2018). "Coalition launched 105 weapons against Syria, with none intercepted, DoD says". Military Times. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  10. ^ Raddatz, Martha; Martinez, Luis (14 October 2023). "Exclusive: US to send 2nd aircraft carrier to eastern Mediterranean". ABC News. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  11. ^ "Statement From Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III on U.S. Force Posture Changes in the Middle E". U.S. Department of Defense. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  12. ^ "Houthis fire more Ballistic Missiles and Drones in the Red Sea". Naval News. 25 December 2023.
  13. ^ "Video US warship shoots down 4 drones in Red Sea: CENTCOM". ABC News. 25 December 2023.
  14. ^ Toropin, Konstantin (26 December 2023). ""Massive One-Day Barrage of Houthi Attacks on Shipping Fended Off by Navy Destroyer, Fighter"".
  15. ^ Stancy, Diana (9 January 2024). "USS Laboon shoots down Red Sea air drone in 'self-defense'". Military Times. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  16. ^ "US CENTCOM Statement on 26th Houthi attack on commercial shipping lanes in the Red Sea".
  17. ^ Gambrell, Jon (14 January 2024). "Yemen Houthi rebels fire missile at US warship in Red Sea in first attack after American-led strikes". AP News. Associated Press. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  18. ^ Ziezulewicz, Geoff (3 February 2023). "Navy destroyers and jets took out at least 12 Houthi drones Friday". Navy Times.
  19. ^ "Iranian-Backed Houthi Terrorists conduct Multiple Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile Attacks in the Southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden".
  20. ^ "Feb. 19 and early morning Feb. 20 Red Sea Update". U.S. Central Command. 20 February 2024. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
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