US destroyer Pinckney capable of taking care of herself

From the Philippine News Agency (Feb 8): US destroyer Pinckney capable of taking care of herself

The USS Pinckney (DDG-91), a guided missile destroyer of the United States Navy now at anchor at Manila's South Harbor for a five-day goodwill visit, has no need of escorts as she is very capable of defending herself against air, surface, and sub-surface threats.

This fact was made known during Saturday's media tour of the ship which was named after Navy Cook William Pinckney, who was awarded the Navy Cross for rescuing a fellow crew member during the Battle of Santa Cruz in Solomon Islands in 1942.

The American vessel arrived at the Manila South Harbor last Friday and will be leaving by Feb. 11.

For starters, the USS Pinckney is armed with Mark 45 Model 4 5-inch caliber which is capable of engaging any air and surface targets with a high rate of fire (around 120 rounds per minute) ensuring of its neutralization.

Aside from this, the ship is also equipped with a 20mm Phalanx CIWS (closed-in weapon system) which is capable of firing 4,500 rounds per minute, literally creating a cloud of lead impossible for any missile, rocket and aircraft to penetrate.

This weapon, as seen by this writer, is located in the ship's stern.

According to Capt. Frank Okada, USS Pinckney's commanding officer, the CIWS acts as the ship's last line of defense against threats emanating from the air.

He said that CIWS can operate independently from the ship's other weapon systems.

Other armaments of the USS Pinckney are two Mark 41 VLS (vertical launching systems) which are capable of firing a mixture of Standard and Tomahawk missiles, anti-submarine rockets and the evolved Sea Sparrow missile.

The two Mark 41 VLS are equivalent to 96 cells (firing tubes).

Adding more punch to the USS Pinckney is its two MH-60R Seahawk LAMPS III which is capable of detecting and destroying submarines.

These aircraft uses sonobuoys to locate submarine threats and once determined hostile, it can sink such threats at will, using its Mark 46 anti-submarine torpedoes.

The MH-60s has a loiter time of three hours and is capable of conducting aerial and rescue missions.

"With the versatility offered by our various weapon systems and our MH-60s, the USS Pinckney is well equipped to deal with any threats," Okada said.

The USS Pinckney is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer in the United States Navy.

She is named after Cook First Class William Pinckney (1915–1975), who received the Navy Cross for his courageous rescue of a fellow crew member on board USS Enterprise (CV-6) during the Battle of Santa Cruz.

The USS Pinckney was laid down on July 16, 2001 by Ingalls Shipbuilding at Pascagoula, Mississippi; launched on June 26, 2002; and commissioned on May 29, 2004 at Naval Construction Battalion Center Port Hueneme.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=10&sid=&nid=10&rid=613968