Official ceremony in Rota Naval Base to welcome the destroyer ‘USS Ross’

An official ceremony, presided over by the Fleet Commander admiral Santiago Bolíbar, has taken place today at noon in Rota Naval Base to welcome the destroyer ‘USS Ross’. This ship is the second of the four US Navy destroyers to be deployed as part of NATO’s anti-missile shield.

The ‘USS Ross’, with a 300-strong complement, is an ‘Arleigh Burke’-class destroyer, sister ship of the ‘USS Donald Cool’ already deployed in Rota. The ‘USS Ross’ left her home port in Norfolk (Virginia) on June 3rd with a stopover in Yorktown.

The arrival of the ‘USS Ross’ is another milestone of NATO’s anti-missile shield in the Mediterranean which will conclude with the deployment of a further two warships in the near future: the ‘USS Porter’ and the ‘USS Carney’.

These warships are part of the US contribution to NATO’s anti-missile defense architecture which the Alliance agreed to develop during the Lisbon Summit held in that Portuguese city in November 2010 to defend Europe against the growing threat and proliferation of ballistic missiles. Spain contributes hosting and supporting those four destroyers in Rota.