By Euro Weekly News Media • Published: 08 Apr 2017 • 8:05
US NAVY destroyers Ross and Porter, deployed to Rota, Spain were the ships that launched the 59 Tomahawk missiles against the Shayrat airfield in Syria.
American forces bombed the Syrian air base as a warning against the use of chemical weapons where it is suspected that Syrian government aircraft took off for the rebel town of Khan Sheikhoun loaded with banned nerve agent Sarin.
In a message Admiral Michelle Howard, head of US Navy forces in Europe, said: “I just want to say that the commanding officers of both those ships performed magnificently, along with their crews.”
“The integration of the operations cells and all of the teams supporting from the planning to the execution was just flawless. It’s an example of the strength of the United States Navy and our ability to project power around the globe.”
The ships – along with the Donald Cook and Carney – were originally sent to Spain as part of the Navy’s ballistic missile defence system in 2014.
The Mediterranean-based ships are regularly shadowed by the Russian fleet as tensions have increased in Syria.
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