The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78) departed Naval Station Rota, Spain, on its ninth Forward-Deployed Naval Forces-Europe (FDNF-E) patrol, Jan. 12, the U.S. Navy announced.
Porter is scheduled to work alongside regional partners in various training exercises and conduct maritime security operations in support of U.S. national security interests in Europe and Africa.
During the COVID-19 global pandemic, Porter’s crew accomplished necessary maintenance while continuing social distancing measures and adhering to minimal manning procedures.
Porter’s eight patrol, which spanned from April to July of 2020, included at-sea training with the Romanian Navy in the Black Sea; joint interoperability exercises with the Italian and French navies in the Mediterranean Sea; operations within a Surface Action Group with the Royal Navy in the High North and Barents Sea; passing exercises (PASSEXes) with the Tunisian Navy; exercise Sea Breeze 2020 with Ukrainian, Romanian, Turkish, Georgian, Bulgarian, and Spanish Navies; and a Black Sea protection operation with NATO and other U.S. European Command components that focused on both Joint and NATO interoperability.
Porter is one of four U.S. Navy destroyers based in Rota, Spain, and assigned to Commander, Task Force 65 in support of NATO’s Integrated Air Missile Defense architecture. These FDNF-E ships have the flexibility to operate throughout the waters of Europe and Africa, from the Cape of Good Hope to the Arctic Circle, demonstrating their mastery of the maritime domain.
