US destroyers based in Spain poised to quickly strike key targets

Missile-armed destroyers based in Rota, Spain, give US commanders expanded options to carry out quick strikes against potential adversary targets across the Mediterranean, North Africa and the Middle East.

Situated just north of the Strait of Gibraltar, Naval Station (NAVSTA) Rota is a key forward presence facility that is well positioned to project US and NATO military power throughout the region.

In the summer, the US Navy ordered two more Arleigh Burke-class destroyers to be based at Rota, joining four others already based there.

"Those will help increase the United States' and NATO's maritime presence and all the relevant maritime domains in the Euro-Atlantic area," White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said in June.

The Arleigh Burke-class ships carry more than 90 missiles and are designed as multi-mission vessels.

The destroyers are able to strike moving targets on land using Tomahawk cruise missiles; take out submarines using towed sonar array, rockets and helicopter strikes; and destroy ships using the Harpoon anti-ship missile.

The Tomahawk missile in particular can hug the ground for 1,000 miles (1,600km), making it "extremely stealthy, with hostile forces not even aware that one was approaching until something blew up", David Szondy wrote in 2021 for New Atlas.

While the Tomahawk flies more slowly than supersonic and hypersonic missiles, it has a much longer range.

The ships also are equipped with the Aegis Combat System and Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) and Standard Missile 6 (SM-6) surface-to-air missiles for ballistic missile defence.

Flexibility

Basing the destroyers at Rota gives them the flexibility to operate throughout the waters of Europe and Africa, from the Cape of Good Hope to the Arctic Circle, according to the US Navy.

After Russia illegally annexed Crimea in 2014 and before its invasion of Ukraine this year, the US Navy's Rota-based destroyers were regularly operating in the Black Sea for deterrence missions.

"When combined with our partners and allies, we are collectively ready to perform a myriad of tasks, including NATO ballistic missile defence, the full spectrum of maritime security operations, bilateral and multilateral training exercises, and NATO operations and deployments," said in August Capt. Mac Harkin, commanding officer of the USS Bulkeley, one of the six destroyers in Rota.

In addition to its strategic location, midway between the United States and the Middle East, Rota is regarded as one of the most advanced naval installations in the world, with the largest weapons and fuel facilities in Europe.

It provides cargo, fuel and logistics support to US and NATO ships and units, including the US Navy's 6th Fleet (headquartered in Naples, Italy), and US Air Force Air Mobility Command units transiting to Germany and the Middle East.

The base supports the movement of vessels and of US Navy and Air Force flights via a 670-acre airfield and a harbour that can accommodate deep draft vessels, along with three piers and other facilities shared with the Spanish navy.

The installation is under the Spanish flag, and is commanded by a Spanish vice admiral. The US and Spanish navies work together under the guidance of the Agreement on Defence Co-operation.

'In the game'

The expansion of the US military mission in Europe coincides with Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, which has ushered in a wave of American reinforcements.

The invasion also indirectly strengthened NATO's defence posture in Europe.

NATO allies have ramped up patrols in waters normally handled by the US Navy, enabling the United States to put a greater focus elsewhere, including the Arabian Sea, which has seen its strategic importance grow in recent years.

The Arabian Sea is the waterway that all Iranian ships must pass to reach world ports, and a key link in China's "string of pearls".

Iran has long threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz and attack maritime vessels in the event of war.

Meanwhile, China's massive infrastructure drive to connect its mainland to the Horn of Africa via a network of military and commercial facilities in recent years has raised concerns.

The increased US presence in Europe during this time of instability is significant both symbolically and practically, experts told Breaking Defense in July.

"This is a powerful signal that the United States is in full support of beefing up [our] force posture in Europe," said Jim Townsend, a senior fellow at the Centre for New American Security.

"That it's not just China that drives our force posture overseas, it reassures allies that we are in the game and not just trying to get by on the cheap," he said.

The six destroyers now in Rota are "an asset, a strong symbol of rotating forward presence -- the [US Navy] still being the only Navy in the world to be forward present like that", said Sebastian Bruns, a researcher at the Institute for Security Policy at Kiel University and formerly a visiting professor at the US Naval Academy.

More ships in Rota translates to more engagements and exercises with European navies, he said.

This in turn leads to both Americans and Europeans understanding "the fundamental role of these ships as steel-gray symbols of American commitment to national and NATO interests", Bruns said.