USS Oscar Austin |
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| Career (United States) | |
|---|---|
| Namesake: | Oscar P. Austin |
| Ordered: | 20 July 1994 |
| Laid down: | 9 October 1997 |
| Launched: | 7 November 1998 |
| Commissioned: | 19 August 2000 |
| Motto: | Honor and Sacrifice |
| Status: | in active service, as of 2012[update] |
| Badge: | |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 9,200 long tons (9,300 t) |
| Length: | 509 ft 6 in (155.30 m) |
| Beam: | 66 ft (20 m) |
| Draught: | 31 ft (9.4 m) |
| Propulsion: | 4 × General Electric LM2500-30 gas turbines, 2 shafts, 100,000 shp (75 MW) |
| Speed: | >30 kn (56 km/h; 35 mph) |
| Complement: | 380 officers and enlisted |
| Armament: | 1 × 32-cell, 1 × 64-cell Mk 41 vertical launch systems, 96 × RIM-66 SM-2, BGM-109 Tomahawk or RUM-139 VL-Asroc, missiles 1 × 5″/54 (127/54 mm), 2 × 25 mm, 4 × 12.7 mm guns, 2 × Phalanx CIWS 2 × Mk 46 triple torpedo tubes |
| Aircraft carried: | 2 × SH-60 Sea Hawk helicopters |
USS Oscar Austin (DDG-79) is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer in the United States Navy.
Oscar Austin is named for Private First Class Oscar P. Austin, USMC, a recipient of the Medal of Honor. His mother, Mildred Austin, was the matron of honor at the commissioning.
Oscar Austin's maiden deployment in late 2002 resulted in her participation in the opening strikes of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Oscar Austin recently deployed in September 2005, once again in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The ship returned from a successful deployment in March 2006.
As of 2007, Oscar Austin was operating in DESRON 26.
As of 2008 the Oscar Austin is the first combatant ship to deploy with a Scan Eagle UAV developed and flown by Insitu Inc.
Oscar Austin is the first ship of the Flight IIA subclass of the Arleigh Burke class. Compared to previous Burkes, Flight IIAs are four feet and six inches (1.4 m) longer, displace about 900 tons more, carry six more VLS cells, and have a hangar that can house two SH-60 Seahawk helicopters. To prevent the additional superstructure aft from fouling radar returns, the rear-facing SPY-1D panels are one deck higher. Oscar Austin is one of two Flight IIA ships using the older 5″/54 caliber naval rifle (the other is Roosevelt (DDG-80)) which cannot use certain advanced munitions that require the longer 5"/62 caliber gun mounted by USS Winston S Churchill and later Burkes. They have their Harpoon anti-ship missiles removed to reduce costs.[1]
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