ONE of the U.S. Navy’s newest warships made a port call at the Port of Davao for a three-day visit.
USS Montgomery arrived at the Port of Davao in Sasa on Saturday, June 29.
According to commanding officer Cmdr Eddie Rosso, the visit was to strengthen partnerships between the two countries and to practice interoperability with their counterparts in the Philippine Navy.
Rosso said the ship’s visit was not related to the tensions in the South China Sea.
“The US and the Philippines has been in a partnership for over 70 years,” Rosso said citing the ship’s visit as symbol of friendship between the two countries.
The USS Montgomery is the fourth Independence Class ship littoral combat ship to be built in her class. She was commissioned in 2016.
“Most ships have a draft of 30 to 40 feet, this ship drafts 14 feet which gives our navy the opportunity to a lot of places that we couldn’t be able to, particularly in the littoral coastal areas,” Rosso said.
He said the ship can do so many roles like forward presence, deterrence, sea control, disaster relief, and humanitarian aid.
One of the ship’s unique characteristics is its speed and maneuverability. LCS uses steerable water jets instead of the usual propellers and rudders to drive the ship.
The ship is capable of going 40 plus knots, one of the fastest US navy ships in service.
Aside from littoral capabilities she can also operate in an ocean environment.
This is USS Montgomery’s maiden deployment from her homeport in San Diego, California.
After a media tour during her arrival, the ship on Sunday, June 30, hosted several visitors from the city which included local government officials and counterparts from the Philippine military. (PIA 11)