American warship on a visit to Malta
The appearance of a US military ship in the Grand Harbor may have shocked many after the Russian war in Ukraine but the ship is only here for supplies.
The USS Ross moored in Malta on Saturday, marking its first visit in almost 18 years.
It is an Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer that forms part of the 6th Fleet of the American fleet in the Mediterranean. Under the command of Captain Scott Jones, it operates from a naval base in Rota, Spain.
Jones gave Maltese journalists a tour of the ship on Monday. Asked by MaltaToday how the security scenario in the Mediterranean has changed since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Jones said he expects everyone to operate in accordance with international law.
“The USS Ross operates on the high seas and countries around the world are authorized to operate on the high seas. We expect everyone to operate in accordance with international law while watching them at sea, ”said Jones.
Asked if the USS Ross was heading for the Black Sea, Jones declined to comment. “As a long-standing policy issue we are not talking about current or future operations.”
Jones said the USS Ross was tasked with supporting American and NATO interests in the Mediterranean.
The ship is equipped to launch surface-to-air missiles, anti-ship missiles and surface-to-surface Tomahawk cruise missiles. Jones explained how these weapon systems can do anything from destroying a target to launching sensors into orbit. They can also destroy submarines.
The vessel also has a rear landing gear helicopter, which can accommodate a wide variety of rotor blade aircraft from the hefty Sea Dragon and Super Stallions to the TH- 6B lightweight.
In addition to electronic warfare equipment and missile systems, Rice also carries the Phalanx Close-In Weapons System, which is a 20mm rotating barrel Vulcan cannon with an extremely high rate of a fire designed to escape missiles, small boats and incoming aircraft.
The main cannon on the Rice is the five-inch deck cannon with a rapid fire located on the bow. It can store up to 20, 5-inch barrels that drop barrel at 2,500 feet per second and can have a maximum range of almost 40km. In addition to these heavy weapons, the ship’s quarterdeck also has a number of difficult points for small arms such as the .308 caliber M240 general purpose machine and the .50 M2 caliber browning heavy machine gun.