The USS Ralph Johnson (DDG-114), the Navy’s newest guided-missile destroyer, was commissioned in March at Charleston, South Carolina. The 9,000-ton warship is the 65th Arleigh Burke–class destroyer and the 36th Flight IIA-variant of the class, which incorporates a helicopter hangar for two MH-60 helicopters. The Ralph Johnson is named in honor of a Charleston native and Marine Corps private first class who posthumously received the Medal of Honor for heroism during the Vietnam War. The 510-foot warship has a beam of 59 feet, a draft of 31 feet, and is operated by a crew of 329 officers and sailors. The Arleigh Burke DDGs are powered by four LM-2500-30 gas turbines enabling speeds in excess of 30 knots. Each of these multimission warships carries an Aegis air defense system as well as a wide array of weapons for use against targets on and under the sea, in the air, and on land.
The U.S. Navy commissioned into service its 15th Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarine, the USS Colorado (SSN-788), on 17 March. Built by General Dynamics’ Electric Boat shipyard at Groton, Connecticut, and launched on 29 December 2016, the 377-foot submarine has a beam of 34 feet and displaces 7,800 tons when submerged. While the current Colorado is the first submarine named for the state, she is the fourth Navy fighting ship to bear the Colorado name, which was previously carried by a steam-powered frigate launched in 1856, a 13,780-ton armored cruiser commissioned in 1905, and a 32,500-ton battleship that served from 1923 through 1947. The latest Colorado is propelled by a single S9G pressurized water reactor providing nearly unlimited range and endurance. The submarine operates with a crew of 132 officers and enlisted personnel and is armed with a mix of Mk-48 ADCAP torpedoes and long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles.
Work is nearing completion on France’s fourth and final multimission offshore patrol vessel, known locally as the B2M (Bâtiment Multimission) program. Named the Dumant d’Urville, the new B2M measures 213 feet long, displaces 2,300 tons fully loaded, and is expected to enter service by the end of 2018. Three older sisters entered service in 2016 and 2017, including the lead ship D’Entrecasteaux, second unit Bougainville, and third sister Champlain. The ships are homeported overseas in New Caledonia, Tahiti, and La Réunion, respectively, while the Dumant d’Urville is to be based in Martinique. Designed for long-range operations, the class has an unrefueled endurance of 30 days and operates with a crew of 20 along with up to 20 additional personnel and equipment for a variety of missions. The B2Ms are tasked with representing French interests and conducting presence, exclusive economic zone, and sovereignty patrols as well as law enforcement, logistical support, search-and-rescue, firefighting, and other maritime duties far from French home waters.
Mr. Wertheim, a defense consultant in the Washington, D.C., area, is the author of the 16th edition of The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World, available from the Naval Institute Press (see www.usni.org).