The USS Philippine Sea, a Flight II Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser, is providing key capabilities to the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group (CSG) as it operates in the Middle East.

The CSG is in Central Command (CENTCOM)'s area of responsibility as part of the US response to the war between Israel and Hamas.

The strike group includes flagship aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea, guided-missile destroyers USS Mason and USS Gravely of Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 22, Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 3 with its nine squadrons, and the Information Warfare Commander.

The USS Philippine Sea, which was first commissioned in March 1989, is named for the 1944 Battle of the Philippine Sea.

The 567.5-foot (173-meter)-long vessel is propelled by four LM2500 gas turbines and can reach a top speed of 32.5 knots (60 km/h). When fully loaded, the USS Philippine Sea displaces almost 10,000 tons.

With a crew of 330 sailors, the USS Philippine Sea has six major sensors and processing systems that enable the ship to perform multi-functional radar missions simultaneously such as air search, fire control, surface search, gun fire control and active and passive sonar.

Its sensors include AN/SPY-1 and AN/SPS-49 air search radars that provide continuous search and tracking of targets. The cruiser is also equipped with the AN/SPS-55 surface search radar, the AN/SPQ-9A fire control radar and AN/SPG-62 fire control radars.

The USS Philippine Sea is armed with two 61-cell Mark (Mk) 41 Vertical Launch Systems, the global standard in shipborne missile canister launching systems.

The Mk 41s contain a mix of air and cruise missile defense Standard Missile 2 (SM-2) Block IIIB, extended range surface-to-air-missile interceptor SM-2ER Block IV, surface-to-air missile interceptor SM-3 and long-range, subsonic Tomahawk cruise missiles.

The vessel carries eight Harpoon all-weather, anti-ship missiles, as well as two 5-inch (127mm) Mk 45 lightweight mounted guns, two .98-inch (25mm) Mk 38 chain guns and eight .50-inch (12.7mm) machine guns.

The cruiser's defense systems include two Phalanx Close In Weapon Systems -- a rapid-fire, Ku-band radar guided watercraft missile defense system -- and two Mk 32 Surface Vessel Torpedo Tubes, an anti-submarine torpedo launching system.

Mission capabilities

As a Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser, the USS Philippine Sea is a multi-role warship, capable of performing anti-submarine missions, missile launches and interdiction and escort operations.

In February 2021, the US Navy announced that the USS Philippine Sea had interdicted a shipment of more than 600 pounds (275kg) of narcotics in the North Arabian Sea valued at $2.8 million.

The cruiser is equipped with two SH-60B/R Seahawk Helicopters, the US Navy's workhorse helicopter that can conduct a wide range of missions including anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, naval special warfare insertion, both conventional and combat search and rescue, medical evacuation and vertical replenishment.

The USS Philippine Sea is capable of performing multi-mission Air Warfare, Under Sea Warfare, Naval Surface Fire Support and Surface Warfare.

This operational flexibility empowers the cruiser to support carrier battle groups or amphibious forces and to operate independently as a flag ship of surface action groups.

The USS Philippine Sea's current deployment within CENTCOM's area of operation significantly enhances the Eisenhower CSG's ability to conduct air, surface and subsurface combat operations.

The arrival of the CSG in the Middle East region "displays our speed and agility to flex as our nation's leaders determined a balance of maritime capability in support of national security priorities," Rear Adm. Marc Miguez, the commander of the strike group, said in a statement on November 4.

"The strike group brings an unparalleled combat superiority to CENTCOM and we will be leveraging our presence in the theater to enhance regional security and operate alongside our allies and partners."