Faced With Russian Submarines In The Atlantic Ocean, United States Forms Missile Destroyer Task Force

Illustration of US Military USS Thomas Hudner (DDG-116). (Wikimedia Commons/U.S. Navy)

JAKARTA - The United States Navy has formed a destroyer task force to fight Russian submarines in the Atlantic Ocean, the USNI News Institute of the Navy wrote.

"The ship will be ready to fulfill all types of assignments, including tracking Russia's underwater activity in the Atlantic and the defense of our nation," said the Commander of the US Navy's Atlantic Fleet Surface Ship, Rear Admiral Brendan McLane, citing RIA Novosti News Agency September 28.

The task force group was called the 'Greyhound'. So far, the group includes the two most efficient destroyers, USS Thomas Hudner (DDG-116) and USS Donald Cook (DDG-75). Both belong to the Arleigh Burke Kelas Class missile destroyers.

In January they will join the USS The Sullivans (DDG-68), which is now part of the British carrier group. Later, when the SS Thomas Hudner (DDG-116) leaves for maintenance, the destroyers USS The Sullivans (DDG-68) and USS Gravelly (DDG-107) will be loaded into the Greyhound. All of them are included in the Arleigh Burke Class missile destroyer

The ships will be based in Mayport and Norfolk, Virginia. If nothing goes wrong, this task force will have full combat readiness by June 2022.

USNI News said the new group was created against the backdrop of the United States Navy's decision to focus on the Atlantic due to increased Russian submarine activity.

Illustration of the destroyer USS Donald Cook (DDG-75). (US Navy/Chief Journalist Alan J. Baribeau)

The Russian Navy is said to have developed a next-generation attack submarine armed with long-range land-attack missiles with a range of 1,000 miles or more.

Not only that, but Moscow is also said to be developing a new class of submarine that will carry torpedoes the size of a school bus armed with a nuclear warhead.

"The strategic threat to our homeland has entered a new era. Our competitors have deployed and continue to develop their capabilities to keep the country under threat," said McLain.

In addition to missile destroyers, the task force that can be deployed in a short time to deal with the threat of Russian submarines in the Atlantic Ocean, will be equipped with submarines to helicopter detachments.

"This will allow us to work on the schedule of not only surface ships, but also submarines, P-8 Poseidon anti-submarine aircraft to HSM helicopter detachments," said Rear Admiral Brian Davies, commander of Submarine Group 2.

The United States military has repeatedly expressed concern about the surge in Russian submarine operations in the Atlantic. Anticipating this, the United States Navy reactivated the 2nd Fleet on August 24, 2018.

The fleet, which was formed in 1950 and was assigned to the Cuban Crisis, Operation Urgent Fury, to Operation Desert Shield, and Operation Desert Storm, was decommissioned on September 30, 2011.