Equipment On The US Destroyer Deployed In Truong Sa

A US defense official said today that the USS Lassen is approaching Subi and Mischief reefs in the Spratly archipelago, where China has been conducting major dredging and accretion activities to turn them into artificial islands since 2015.

USS Lassen (DDG-82) is an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer of the US Navy, in service since 2001. The ship is 155.3m long, 20m wide, 9.4m high, displacement when fully loaded.

USS Lassen is equipped with Mk41 32 vertical launch system and 64 launch tubes, 96 SM-2 RIM66 missiles, BGM-109 Tomahawk or RUM-139 VL-Asroc missiles.

USS Lassen belongs to the 7th Fleet of the US Navy, based in Yokosuka, Japan, under the command of the Pacific Fleet.

USS Lassen often takes responsibility for patrolling, supporting security and ensuring stability in the waters of the Asia-Pacific region.

The two MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopters accompanying the ship are aircraft that regularly undertake patrol missions in the East Sea.

The USS Lassen launches a Tomahawk land attack missile during Exercise Multi-Sail 2015.

This is an annual exercise, taking place around the end of March, organized to evaluate combat systems, improve team spirit as well as combat capabilities of warships of the 7th Fleet.

This year the JMSDF participated in the exercise for the first time with the goal of enhancing interoperability and strengthening the US-Japan alliance.

The USS Lassen launches a Tomahawk land attack missile during Exercise Multi-Sail 2015.

This is an annual exercise, taking place around the end of March, organized to evaluate combat systems, improve team spirit as well as combat capabilities of warships of the 7th Fleet.

This year the JMSDF participated in the exercise for the first time with the goal of enhancing interoperability and strengthening the US-Japan alliance.