The destroyers accompanying the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group (CSG) protect its flagship carrier while also projecting power.

The Eisenhower CSG on November 26 transited through the Strait of Hormuz into the Arabian Gulf.

The CSG had earlier arrived in the eastern Mediterranean Sea in early November as part of an increased US military posture in the region in response to the war between Israel and Hamas.

It joined the USS Gerald R. Ford CSG in the region as part of efforts to deter Iran and its proxies in Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen and to prevent an expansion of the conflict.

The arrival of a second CSG in the Mediterranean brought additional naval and aviation assets, increasing capabilities and flexibility for the US 5th Fleet, said the US Navy.

The Eisenhower CSG typically includes the guided missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG-58), flagship aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), the Information Warfare Commander, Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 3 and ships of Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 22.

The destroyer squadron currently serves as the Sea Combatant Commander for the CSG and is responsible for directing surface combatants in both surface warfare and anti-submarine warfare.

DESRON-22 is capable of conducting screening, mine warfare, maritime interdiction operations and helicopter operations.

The Destroyers

DESRON-22 is currently composed of four destroyers: the USS Gravely (DDG-107), USS Laboon (DDG-58), USS Mason (DDG-87) and USS Carney (DDG-64), though the exact ships change regularly.

DDG-107 USS Gravely is the newest destroyer of the squadron. The vessel was first commissioned in November 2010 and is a member of the newly redesigned Arleigh Burke Flight IIA sub-class of destroyers reconfigured to better adapt to littoral warfare.

Employing all-steel construction, Flight IIA destroyers host crews of about 330 sailors and measure 509.5 feet (155.29 meters) long.

The USS Gravely is outfitted with side-by-side helicopter hangars housing two Seahawk SH-60 helicopters and possesses an enlarged flight deck.

Other Flight IIA enhancements include organic mine hunting and area theater ballistic missile defense (BMD).

Flight IIA destroyers center on the integrated Aegis Weapon System, which consists of advanced Anti-Air Warfare and Anti-Submarine Warfare systems as well as the all-weather, long-range Tomahawk Weapon System, which can conduct land attacks.

The Gravely is equipped with Mk 41 Vertical Launch Systems (VLSs) for a total of 96 cells capable of defeating ballistic missiles, as well as air, sea and sub-sea threats.

The next newest destroyer assigned to DESRON-22 is DDG-87 USS Mason. Also a member of the Flight IIA Arleigh Burke sub-class, the USS Mason was commissioned in 2003. At 20 years old, the vessel is halfway through her life cycle.

The combined power of two Flight IIA Arleigh Burke destroyers brings tremendous ballistic missile defense capability to the Eisenhower CSG.

The second oldest ship of DESRON-22 is DDG-64 USS Carney. It was commissioned in 1996 and was the 14th vessel built as a part of the Flight I class of Arleigh Burke destroyers.

The oldest member of DESRON-22 is the DDG-58 USS Laboon, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer commissioned in 1995 that is notable for taking part in the April 2018 missile strikes against Syria, firing seven Tomahawk missiles from the Red Sea.

Together, the USS Gravely and USS Laboon comprise the permanent members of DESRON-22.

Unlike the Flight IIA ships, the Flight I vessels cannot house helicopters and have a total of 90 cells from their VLSs.

The combined power of DESRON-22 with the USS Philippine Sea, a Flight II Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser, strategically positions the Eisenhower CSG to defeat a wide range of threats and to advance US strategic interests in the Middle East.