USS Rafael Peralta

Namesake

Rafael Peralta was born in Mexico City and immigrated to the United States as a child. Peralta joined the United States Marine Corps when he received his green card in 2000 and became a U.S. citizen while serving in the Marine Corps. Peralta was killed during the Second Battle of Fallujah in Iraq when he was wounded by small-arms fire while clearing houses with his fellow Marines. The insurgents threw a hand grenade into the room. Despite being injured, Peralta pulled the grenade underneath his body (thus absorbing most of the blast), killing him instantly and saving his fellow Marines. For his actions, Peralta was recommended for the Medal of Honor but was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross instead.

Design

Rafael Peralta is the 65th ship of the Arleigh Burke class of destroyers, the first of which, , was commissioned in July 1991. With 75 ships planned to be built in total, the class has the longest production run for any U.S. Navy surface combatant warship. As an Arleigh Burke-class ship, Rafael Peraltas roles will include anti-aircraft, anti-submarine, and anti-surface warfare, as well as strike operations. During its long production run, the class was built in three flights—Flight I (DDG-51 to DDG-76), Flight II (DDG-72 to DDG-78), and Flight IIA (DDG-79 onward). Rafael Peralta is a Flight IIA ship, and as such, features several improvements in terms of ballistic missile defense, an embarked air wing, and the inclusion of mine-detecting ability.

Construction and career

By January 2014, the aft portion of the ship had been completed and had begun outfitting and she was laid down on 30 October 2014.

The ship was christened on 31 October 2015 at Bath Iron Works by Rosa Maria Peralta, Sgt. Peralta's mother. In February 2017, the ship was accepted by the United States Navy.

Rafael Peralta was commissioned at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, California on 29 July 2017 and was homeported at Naval Base San Diego before moving to Japan in 2021.

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers Rafael Peralta and arrived in Sasebo for a port visit on 8 February 2020.

Rafael Peralta joined , , and on their way to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in preparation for RIMPAC 2020 on 6 August 2020.

Deployments

• 17 January 2020 - 3 September 2020 - 5th/7th fleet - Maiden deployment

Awards

• PACFLT Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Bloodhound Award - 2024

In popular culture

Rafael Peralta was used in the Amazon Prime Video series Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan, season 2 episode 8 in November 2019.

References

References

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2. (2 November 2015). "General Dynamics Bath Iron Works Christens Future USS Rafael Peralta". Bath Iron Works.
3. (6 February 2017). "Future USS Rafael Peralta Delivered to the Navy". United States Navy.
4. (30 July 2017). "USS Rafael Peralta Commissioned in San Diego". United States Navy.
5. (19 January 2021). "USS RAFAEL PERALTA DDG 115".
6. "About DDG 115 – USS Rafael Peralta Commissioning".
7. (1 November 2011). ["Rafael Peralta (DDG 115)"]({{Naval Vessel Register URL). Navy.mil.
8. (26 September 2011). "DDG 51 Class Ship Construction Contract Awards Announced". [[Naval Sea Systems Command]].
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10. Cavas P., Christopher. (15 February 2012). "Five New U.S. Navy Ship Names Announced". [[Gannett Government Media]].
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12. Sharp, David. (31 December 2009). "After 2-plus decades, Navy destroyer breaks record". [[The Guardian]].
13. "DDG-51 Arleigh Burke-class". FAS.org.
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15. Captain Mark Vandroff. (13 January 2014). "Navy Benefits from Stable DDG 51 Program". United States Department of Defense.
16. (30 October 2014). "Future USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115) Keel Authenticated". United States Navy.
17. Steele, Jeanette. (2 November 2015). "Peralta: Ship christening 'bittersweet'". [[The San Diego Union-Tribune]].
18. (3 February 2017). "Navy taking ownership of the future USS Rafael Peralta". Navy Times.
19. Isaacs, Jason, MC2. (2020-02-10). "USS Rafael Peralta, Russell Visit Sasebo, Japan". [[United States Department of Defense.
20. Milne, Sandy. (2020-08-05). "RAN commences exercises with warships from Singapore, Brunei".
21. "USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115) Earns Bloodhound Award".
22. O'Brien, Kathleen. (2019-11-22). "Bath-built destroyer featured in television series". [[Portland Press Herald]].