An official website of the United States government
Here's how you know
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

News
NEWS | Jan. 19, 2018

USS Ross Conducts Exercises with the Spanish and Portuguese Navies

By Ensign Nicholas L. McGrath, Public Affairs Officer

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ross (DDG 71) participated in an at-sea exercise with the Spanish and Portuguese navies, Jan. 19-23, 2018, designed to improve the countries’ interoperability when conducting maritime evolutions. 

Ross trained alongside ESPS Numancia (F 83), ESPS Blas de Lezo (F 103), and NRP Corte Real (F 332) for the event. A P-8A from Patrol Squadron (VP) 5 and a submarine from Commander, Task Force 69 were other U.S. units that took part in the exercise.

“The sonar technicians under my command followed their training to the letter, and made this a successful [anti-submarine warfare] scenario,” said Lt. j.g. Juan Guzman, the ASW officer for Ross. “I look forward to working further with our NATO partners in the future, and translating the valuable lessons learned from this engagement into real-world results.”

The exercise included a live-fire gun shoot against simulated targets while executing maneuvering tactics designed to maximize the firepower of the formation and an anti-submarine warfare ASW scenario. 

Ross, forward-deployed to Rota, Spain, is on its sixth patrol in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations in support of regional allies and partners and U.S. national security interests in Europe and Africa.

U.S. 6th Fleet, headquartered in Naples, Italy, conducts the full spectrum of joint and naval operations, often in concert with allied and interagency partners, in order to advance U.S. national interests and security and stability in Europe and Africa.