A fourth US Navy destroyer that participated in the Red Sea conflict is on its way to support President Donald Trump’s southern border mission, bringing a range of advanced naval combat capabilities to a very different operating environment.
The Navy announced Friday that the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Cole had left its homeport in Florida to support US Northern Command’s “border security objectives.”
The Trump administration has made cracking down on maritime-related criminal activity, including weapons smuggling, drug trafficking, and illegal immigration, a top priority, and the Defense Department has sent military assets to the US-Mexico border. Among these assets are five destroyers and a littoral combat ship on staggered deployments.
Cole, like the other warships, is set to be accompanied by a US Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment. They specialize in military operations at sea, such as counterterrorism, counterpiracy, and anti-immigration missions.
Arleigh Burke-class destroyers like the Cole are advanced naval surface ships with robust communications and sensor suites and are suited for long-endurance missions. These vessels can be armed with surface-to-air and land-attack missiles. Other armaments include the ship’s five-inch deck gun, machine guns, and a Phalanx Close-In Weapons System.
US Navy photo by Jacob Sippel/released
The Navy said that the Cole’s deployment to the southern border “aims to enhance maritime security and support interagency collaboration in the region through presence operations” and the support of the Coast Guard operators, who can perform vessel boardings, searches, and seizures to target drug trafficking, illegal immigration, and maritime criminal activity.
Cole’s new assignment makes it the latest destroyer to go from the Red Sea conflict, where it defended international shipping lanes from attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels, to patrolling the waters near the US-Mexico border.
It follows in the footsteps of USS Gravely, USS Stockdale, and USS Spruance, which all had extensive Middle East deployments last year.
When the Cole arrives in the Gulf of Mexico, which the Trump administration has renamed the Gulf of America, it will be one of two destroyers actively participating in the mission. The other warship, USS Sampson, departed its homeport in San Diego a few days ago and will be operating in the Pacific Ocean.