Guided-missile destroyer USS Chung-Hoon (DDG 93) launches an SM-2 missile and fires the MK 45 five-inch gun during Rim of the Pacific 2020. USS Chung-Hoon (DDG-93) is an Arleigh Burke-class Aegis destroyer serving in the United States Navy (USN). Chung-Hoon was named in honor of Rear Admiral Gordon Pai’ea Chung-Hoon (1910–1979), recipient of the Navy Cross and the Silver Star. The contract to build her was awarded to Northrop Grumman Ship Systems on 6 March 1998, and her keel was laid down on 14 January 2002, at Ingalls Shipbuilding, Incorporated. She is part of the Pacific Fleet and homeported in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
The Arleigh Burke class of guided missile destroyers (DDGs) were designed as multimission destroyers, able to fulfill the strategic land strike role with Tomahawk missiles; antiaircraft warfare (AAW) role with powerful Aegis radar and surface-to-air missiles; antisubmarine warfare (ASW) with towed sonar array, anti-submarine rockets, and ASW helicopter; and antisurface warfare (ASuW) with Harpoon missile launcher. With upgrades to their AN/SPY-1 phased radar systems as part of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System, the ships of this class have also begun to demonstrate some promise as mobile antiballistic missile and anti-satellite weaponry platforms, operating on 15 ships as of March 2009.
The 127 mm (5″)/54 caliber (Mk 45) lightweight gun is a U.S. naval artillery gun mount consisting of a 127 mm (5 in) L54 Mark 19 gun on the Mark 45 mount. It was designed and built by United Defense, a company later acquired by BAE Systems Land & Armaments, which continued manufacture. The gun is designed for use against surface warships, anti-aircraft and shore bombardment to support amphibious operations.The gun mount features an automatic loader with a capacity of 20 rounds. These can be fired under full automatic control, taking a little over a minute to exhaust those rounds at maximum fire rate. For sustained use, the gun mount would be occupied by a six-man crew (gun captain, panel operator, and four ammunition loaders) below deck to keep the gun continuously supplied with ammunition.
Ten nations, 22 ships, 1 submarine, and more than 5,300 personnel are participating in Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) from August 17 to 31 at sea around the Hawaiian Islands. RIMPAC is a biennial exercise designed to foster and sustain cooperative relationships, critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific region. The exercise is a unique training platform designed to enhance interoperability and strategic maritime partnerships. RIMPAC 2020 is the 27th exercise in the series that began in 1971. (U.S. Navy video by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Devin M. Langer)
