As per reports, USS Nitze (DDG-94) stopped on the edge of the Bosphorus Strait, on its
way to make a port call in Turkey.
It’s the closest a U.S. warship has been to the Ukraine-Russia war since it started
nearly a year ago.
Nitze was seen by ship spotters at the lower edge of the strait on Friday.
U.S. 6th Fleet confirmed in a tweet that Nitze anchored off Instabul’s coast ahead of a
scheduled port call at Gölcük Naval Base.
Turkey closed the Bosphorus Strait to warships on Feb. 28, 2022, four days after Russia invaded
Ukraine.
Since the closure, only warships with ports on the Black Sea, which includes Russia’s
Black Sea Fleet and Turkish ships, can enter.
The last American warship to transit the strait was USS Arleigh Burke (DDG-51), which left
the Black Sea on Dec. 15, 2021.
In this video Defense Updates analyzes why USS Nitze’s presence near the Ukraine-Russia
war sends a powerful message?
Let’s get started.
USS Nitze is the Flight-IIA Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer.
She is named for Paul Nitze, who served as Secretary of the Navy under President Lyndon
B. Johnson and as chief arms control adviser in the administration of President Ronald
Reagan.
Nitze was commissioned on 5 March 2005 in Norfolk, Virginia.
USS Nitze being an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer is among the largest destroyers built in the
United States.
It has an overall length of 155 m and a displacement of about 9,200 tons.
It has a top speed of 30+ knots (55+ km/h) and a range of 4,400 nmi (8,100 km)
Arleigh Burke-class warships are designed to be capable of performing multiple missions
like Anti Aircraft Warfare (AAW), Anti Submarine Warfare (ASW) and Anti Surface Warfare (ASuW).
The ships of this class are equipped with an Aegis Combat System.
Nitze possesses a multitude of powerful sensors like AN/SPY-1 radar, AN/SQS-53C sonar array
and AN/SQR-19 Tactical Towed Array Sonar It is also able to communicate with external
sources such as satellites or aircraft.
USS Nitze is one of the most well-armed destroyers in the world.
USS Nitze has in total 96 cell Mk 41 Vertical Launch System (VLS) divided into two blocks
of 32 & 64 cells.
These can be configured with a combination of several kinds of weapons like Standard
Missile 6 for Anti-Air Warfare as well as Anti Ship, BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missile
for Land attack to name a few.
It also can be equipped with 2 × Mk 141 Harpoon Missile Launcher for Anti Ship role.
Other than it is equipped with a long-range naval gun for close-range offense.
It also has ‘Phalanx’ Close-In Weapon System for last-ditch missile defense.
2 MH-60R Seahawk LAMPS III helicopters are also present for Anti Submarine Warfare.
The US Ambassador to Turkey Jeff Flake and the US Consulate General to Istanbul Julie
Eadeh visited the ship for several hours.
Flake said in a 6th Fleet news release, “Türkiye is a highly valued NATO Ally,
Nitze’s visit is an opportunity to further strengthen our long-standing and vital partnership
with Türkiye.”
It is interesting to note that Turkey has been blocking Finland and Sweden from joining
NATO and The United States has recently issued warnings to Turkey about Turkish exports to
Russia that include chemicals, microchips.
The release further reads, “Türkiye’s joint operations with the U.S. Navy in the
Mediterranean Sea reinforce the power of the NATO Alliance and enhances interoperability.
The Mediterranean is a critical waterway for maritime commerce and stability throughout
Europe.
The U.S. Navy routinely operates in this region in close coordination with our regional Allies
and partners”
For Russia, the presence of USS Nitze in the vicinity demonstrates that the US military
is committed to protecting international waters and freedom of navigation even as tensions
continue to rise.
USS Nitze is far more capable than anything Russia has, we need remember that on 14th
Apr 2021, Russian Navy’s Black Sea flagship RTS Moskva (121) sunk after its triple-layered
air defense system was unable to stop the two subsonic incoming Neptune Anti-Ship Missiles.
So, technically United States is sending a message to both Turkey & Russia through USS Nitze.