USS ''Rafael Peralta'' (DDG-115) is an '' Arleigh Burke-class'' ( Flight IIA Restart)

Aegis The aegis ( ; ''aigís''), as stated in the ''Iliad'', is a device carried by Athena and Zeus, variously interpreted as an animal skin or a shield and sometimes featuring the head of a Gorgon. There may be a connection with a deity named Aex, a ...

guided missile destroyer A guided-missile destroyer (DDG) is a destroyer whose primary armament is guided missiles so they can provide anti-aircraft warfare screening for the fleet. The NATO standard designation for these vessels is DDG, while destroyers which have a pr ...

in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

. The destroyer can operate with a Carrier Strike Group (CSG), Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG), as an element of a Surface Action Group (SAG), or independently. The ship can conduct a variety of missions in support of national military strategy. From peacetime presence and crisis management to sea control and power projection, 115 will be capable of carrying out Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD), Undersea Warfare (USW), Surface Warfare (SW), and Strike Warfare (STW) in multi-threat environments. The $679.6 million contract to build her was awarded on 26 September 2011 to

Bath Iron Works Bath Iron Works (BIW) is a major United States shipyard located on the Kennebec River in Bath, Maine, founded in 1884 as Bath Iron Works, Limited. Since 1995, Bath Iron Works has been a subsidiary of General Dynamics, one of the world's largest ...

Bath, Maine Bath is a city in Sagadahoc County, Maine, United States. Bath is included in the Brunswick, Maine, Brunswick Micropolitan statistical area, micropolitan area. Bath has a 2024 population of 8,870. It is also the county seat of Sagadahoc County ...

. On 15 February 2012, Secretary of the Navy

Ray Mabus Raymond Edwin Mabus Jr. (; born October 11, 1948) is an American politician and lawyer. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 75th United States Secretary of the Navy from 2009 to 2017. Mabus previo ...

announced the ship's named to be ''Rafael Peralta'' in honor of Marine

Rafael Peralta Rafael Peralta (April 7, 1979 – November 15, 2004) was a United States Marine killed in combat during the Second Battle of Fallujah during the Iraq War. In September 2008 his family was notified that he was awarded the Navy Cross, the seco ...

, who was petitioned for the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

for shielding several Marines from a grenade in November 2004 during the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

; however, he was posthumously awarded the

Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Naval Service's second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is equivalent to the Army ...

instead.

Namesake

was born in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

and immigrated to the United States as a child. Peralta joined the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

when he received his green card in 2000 and became a U.S. citizen while serving in the Marine Corps. Peralta was killed during the

Second Battle of Fallujah The Second Battle of Fallujah, initially codenamed Operation Phantom Fury, Operation al-Fajr (, ) was an American-led offensive of the Iraq War that began on 7 November 2004 and lasted about six weeks. A joint military effort of the United ...

in Iraq when he was wounded by small arms fire while clearing houses with his fellow Marines. The insurgents threw a hand grenade into the room. Despite being injured, Peralta pulled the grenade underneath his body (thus absorbing most of the blast), killing him instantly and saving his fellow Marines. For his actions, Peralta was recommended for the Medal of Honor but was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross instead.

Design

''Rafael Peralta'' is the 65th ship of the ''Arleigh Burke'' class of destroyers, the first of which, , was commissioned in July 1991. With 75 ships planned to be built in total, the class has the longest production run for any U.S. Navy surface combatant warship. As an ''Arleigh Burke''-class ship, ''Rafael Peralta''s roles will include

anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-ba ...

anti-submarine An anti-submarine weapon (ASW) is any one of a number of devices that are intended to act against a submarine and its crew, to destroy (sink) the vessel or reduce its capability as a weapon of war. In its simplest sense, an anti-submarine weapon ...

, and

anti-surface warfare Anti-surface warfare (ASuW or ASUW) is the branch of naval warfare concerned with the suppression of surface combatants. More generally, it is any weapons, sensors, or operations intended to attack or limit the effectiveness of an adversary's ...

, as well as strike operations. During its long production run, the class was built in three flights—Flight I (DDG-51 to DDG-76), Flight II (DDG-72 to DDG-78), and Flight IIA (DDG-79 onward). ''Rafael Peralta'' is a Flight IIA ship, and as such, features several improvements in terms of

ballistic missile A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are powered only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM) typic ...

defense, an embarked air wing, and the inclusion of mine-detecting ability.

Construction and career

By January 2014, the aft portion of the ship had been completed and had begun outfitting and she was laid down on 30 October 2014. The ship was christened on 31 October 2015 at Bath Iron Works by Rosa Maria Peralta, Sgt. Peralta's mother. In February 2017, the ship was accepted by the United States Navy. ''Rafael Peralta'' was commissioned at

Naval Air Station North Island Naval Air Station North Island or NAS North Island , at the north end of the Coronado peninsula on San Diego Bay in San Diego, California, is part of the largest aerospace-industrial complex in the United States Navy – Naval Base Coronado (N ...

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

on 29 July 2017 and was homeported at

Naval Base San Diego Naval Base San Diego is a United States Navy base in San Diego, California. It is the world's second largest surface ship naval base. Naval Base San Diego is the principal homeport of the United States Pacific Fleet, consisting of over 50 ships ...

before moving to Japan in 2021. The ''Arleigh Burke''-class guided-missile destroyers ''Rafael Peralta'' and arrived in

Sasebo is a core city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It is the second-largest city in Nagasaki Prefecture, after its capital, Nagasaki. , the city had an estimated population of 230,873 in 102,670 households, and a population density of 540 per ...

for a port visit on 8 February 2020. ''Rafael Peralta'' joined , , KDB ''Darulehsan'' and on their way to

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Rec ...

in preparation for RIMPAC 2020 on 6 August 2020.

Deployments

* 17 January 2020 - 3 September 2020 - 5th/7th fleet - Maiden deployment

Awards

* PACFLT Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Bloodhound Award - 2024

In Popular Culture

''Rafael Peralta'' was used in the

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...

series ''

Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan ''Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan'' (also known simply as ''Jack Ryan'') is an American Political drama, political action thriller television series based on characters from the fictional Ryanverse created by author Tom Clancy. Featuring modern-day inte ...

'', season 2 episode 8 in November 2019.

Gallery

File:USS Rafael Peralta Christening Ceremony.jpg, Launching of ''Rafael Peralta'' on 31 October 2015 File:USS Rafael Peralta Acceptance Trials.jpg, ''Rafael Peralta''s sea trial on 16 December 2016 File:USS Rafael Peralta commissioning.jpg, Commissioning of ''Rafael Peralta'' on 29 July 2017

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rafael Peralta (DDG-115) Arleigh Burke-class destroyers 2015 ships Ships built in Bath, Maine