USS Benfold explained

USS Benfold (DDG-65) is a Flight I in the United States Navy. She is a multi-mission platform capable of anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) with the powerful Aegis Combat System suite and anti-aircraft missiles, anti-submarine warfare (ASW), with towed sonar array, anti-submarine rockets, anti-surface warfare (ASUW) with Harpoon missiles, and strategic land strike using Tomahawk missiles. Benfold was one of the first ships fitted with the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System and during the 2010 Stellar Daggers exercise was the first ship to simultaneously engage a ballistic missile and a cruise missile.[1]

Former Benfold commanding officers include Admiral Mark Ferguson, Admiral Michael Gilday, Vice Admiral Thomas H. Copeman III, and author D. Michael Abrashoff.[2]

Design, construction and improvements

Built by the Ingalls Shipbuilding Corporation in Pascagoula, Mississippi, Benfold is the 15th of a planned 90 Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers. Named for posthumous Korean War United States Marine Corps Medal of Honor recipient Hospital Corpsman Third Class Edward Clyde Benfold, she joined the U.S. Pacific Fleet for service on 30 March 1996.[3]

Equipped with the Aegis air-defense system and the Mark-41 Vertical Launch System for multiple types of guided missiles, Benfold is capable of defensive and offensive operations against warplanes, anti-ship missiles, surface ships, submarines, and shore targets. In addition to her missiles, she carries one 5-inch rapid-fire naval gun for action against surface ships and for shore bombardment. She also carries anti-submarine torpedoes, and two Phalanx CIWS anti-missile guns. She has a flight deck for MH-60R/S Seahawk Helicopters and is capable of refueling and re-arming these helicopters, but she does not have a hangar for storing and maintaining helicopters.

Modernization 2011

In 2011, Benfold entered drydock at BAE Systems, San Diego to receive an extensive $32 million mid-life upgrade. The hull mechanical and electrical (HM&E) upgrades included a fully integrated bridge, improved machinery and damage control, quality of life improvements, an advanced galley, and commercial-off-the-shelf computing equipment.[4]

Modernization 2013

In 2013, Benfold underwent extensive combat systems upgrades to include the installation of Aegis Baseline 9C, Ballistic Missile Defense version 5.0, A(V) 15 SONAR Suite, and also became Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC) capable.

Service history

Deployments

Naval exercises 2012

In 2012, USS Benfold was the first San Diego-based naval ship invited to participate in the Koa Kai naval exercises. Benfold conducted integrated flight operations, anti-surface and anti-submarine training, dynamic ship maneuvers, ballistic missile defense, small boat attacks and Maritime Interdiction Operations (MIO) utilizing the Visit, Board, Search and Seizure (VBSS) team.[5]

Collision 2017

On 19 November 2017 Benfold was involved in a minor collision with a Japanese commercial tug off Sagami Bay. The tug lost power and drifted into Benfold, causing damage described as minimal, with some scraping to the ship's side. There were no injuries reported on either vessel; Benfold continued at sea, while the tug was towed to Yokosuka.[6]

Freedom of Navigation Operations

Benfold has conducted the following Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOPS) in the South China Sea:

2023

On 6 August 2023, Benfold and three other destroyers responded to a joint Chinese-Russian patrol in international waters near Alaska. The Chinese-Russian flotilla left without incident.[12]

On 9 August 2023, The Navy announced plans to extend the ship's service life beyond the initial 35 years, intending to keep Benfold in service until at least 2036.[13]

Awards

Benfold has been awarded the Navy Battle "E" for the following years: 1997,[16] 1999, 2001, 2003 (listed as "BENFOLD DDG 76" on awards site, year of Benfold DDG-65 / Higgins DDG-76 "Sea Swap"), 2004, 2005, 2007,[17] 2009 &<ref name="Navy Unit Awards">Web site: UNIT AWARDS FOR BENFOLD DDG 65 . awards.navy.mil . 15 June 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150515120005/https://awards.navy.mil/awards/webbas01.nsf/%28vwWebPage%29/home.htm?OpenDocument . 15 May 2015 . dead . 2018.[18]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Missile Defense Agency . Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense . 2012-11-12 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121022204132/http://www.mda.mil/system/aegis_warfighter.html . 22 October 2012 .
  2. Book: Captain D. Michael Abrashoff: It's Our Ship. grandcentralpublishing.com. 27 June 2017 . 9780446537063 . 22 April 2022.
  3. Web site: GUIDED MISSILE DESTROYER USS BENFOLD (DDG 65) COMMISSIONING CEREMONY AT BROADWAY PIER, SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA. defense.gov . 28 March 1996. https://web.archive.org/web/20150619095824/http://www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=806. 19 June 2015. 1 February 2023.
  4. Web site: NAVSEA . First Arleigh Burke-Class Destroyers Successfully Complete Comprehensive Modernization Program . 4 May 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20111029182635/http://www.navsea.navy.mil/teamships/Sea21_Mod/DDG51_Avail_Completion.aspx . 29 October 2011 .
  5. Web site: ENS Daniel . Cobb . ENS James . Martin . USS Benfold Completes Koa Kai 2012 . 16 April 2012 . 12 November 2012 . 13 October 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121013004130/http://www.public.navy.mil/surfor/ddg65/Pages/USSBenfoldCompletesKoaKai2012.aspx . dead .
  6. Web site: BBC News. US warship and Japanese tug collide in latest incident. 19 November 2017. 20 November 2017.
  7. Web site: China says it 'drove away' U.S. warship on anniversary of tribunal ruling. reuters.com. 12 July 2021. 16 July 2022.
  8. Web site: Destroyer Performs FONOP, U.S. Navy Disputes Chinese Claim That It Ousted Warship. usni.org. 8 September 2021. 16 July 2022.
  9. Web site: 7th Fleet Destroyer conducts Freedom of Navigation Operation in South China Sea. navy.mil. 20 January 2022. 16 July 2022.
  10. Web site: US destroyer sails past Chinese-held South China Sea islands. washingtonpost.com. 13 July 2022. 16 July 2022.
  11. Web site: US Navy challenges Chinese claims in South China Sea for second time in a week. cnn.com. 16 July 2022. 16 July 2022.
  12. Web site: Maya . Yang . US dispatches warships after China and Russia send naval patrol near Alaska . . 6 August 2023 . 6 August 2023.
  13. News: 9 August 2023 . Navy extends service lives of four more destroyers . navytimes.com . 10 August 2023.
  14. Web site: USS ARIZONA MEMORIAL TROPHY . NAVADMINS/NAV2005/NAV05211 . 29 August 2005 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304194557/http://www.public.navy.mil/bupers-npc/reference/messages/Documents/NAVADMINS/NAV2005/NAV05211.txt . 4 March 2016 .
  15. Abrashoff, D. Micheal. It's your Ship: It's Your Ship: Management Techniques from the Best Damn Ship in the Navy, 10th Anniversary Edition. Grand Central Publishing, 2012.
  16. Benfold.
  17. Web site: COMNAVSURFOR Announces Winners of Battle "E" . MC2 Elena . Velazquez . 4 March 2008 .
  18. Web site: Surface Force Commander Encourages Continued Excellence to USS Benfold Crew . USS Benfold . navy.mil . 15 October 2020.