USS Stethem (DDG-63) is a modern guided-missile destroyer in service with the United States Navy (USN). It is part of the large Arleigh Burke-class which forms the bulk of the USN destroyer force, the group originally numbering some seventy-six total planned warships with some sixty-four currently in active service (2017). Stethem was ordered on February 22nd, 1990 and saw her keel laid down by Ingalls Shipbuilding on May 11th, 1993. Commissioned for service on October 21st, 1995, the vessel makes its homeport at Yokosuka, Japan and has been an active deterrent to Chinese and North Korean aspirations in the Asia-Pacific Region.
Stethem is known by the nickname of "The Steel Worker" and fights under the motto of "Steadfast and Courageous".
USS Stethem carries the name of Robert Dean Stethem, a USN Seabee diver murdered by elements of Hezbollah on June 15th, 1985 in Beirut, Lebanon when the commercial airliner he was on, TWA Flight 847, was taken over by Iranian-backed Hezbollah hijackers.
USS Stethem is built to the original base Arleigh Burke standard known as "Flight I" (there are currently four recognized "flights" including Flight II, Flight IIA and Flight III). Flight I ships have a displacement around 9,165 short tons and a length reaching 505 feet. The crew complement numbers 300 personnel. Future flights have incorporated various improves to their systems and subsystems to further broaden their tactical value at-sea. All of the warships in the series center on the AEGIS Combat System with multi-function PESA radar providing uncompromised situational awareness.
Beyond the stated dimension, USS Stethem has a beam of 66 feet and a draught down to 31 feet.
Power is from 4 x General Electric LM2500-30 marine gas turbines developing 100,000 horsepower to 2 x Shafts under stern. This allows the vessel to make headway at over 30 knots and reach out to 4,400 nautical miles.
Processing systems include the AN/SPY-1D 3D radar, the AN/SPS-67(V)2 surface-search radar and the AN/SPG-62 Fire Control (FC) radar systems. Sonar is handled by the AN/SQS-53C series unit as well as the AN/SQR-19 tactical towed-array fit. The warship is also equipped for LAMPS III through the AN/SQQ-28 system. LAMPS is the "Light Airborne Multi-Purpose System" working in conjunction with navy helicopters in the Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) role. USS Stethem operates up to 2 x Sikorsky MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopters through a stern-based helicopter pad and onboard full-service hangar.
The Arleigh Burke-class warships are designed to counter multiple threats arising at sea and are therefore equipped with a mix of conventional and missile-minded weaponry. There is 1 x 29-cell and 1 x 61-cell banks (Mk 41 Vertical Launching System = VLS) fitted fore and aft supporting up to ninety Surface-to-Air Missiles (SAMs), sea-launched cruise missiles (Tomahawk variety) and ASROCs (Anti-Submarine ROCket). The missile installations form the heart of the offensive and defensive punch of the class. More conventional weaponry is had through the 1 x 127mm /54 caliber Mark 45 turreted deck gun, 2 x 25mm Bushmaster chain guns, 2 x 20mm Phalanx digitally-controlled Close-In Weapon Systems (CIWSs) and 4 x 12.7mm Browning heavy machine guns. Additionally, there are 2 x Mk 32 triple torpedo tubes for submarine-hunting.
USS Stethem's first official call to action was in November of 1996 when the vessel was used to search for survivors of a USAF C-130 crash off the California coast. She has since deployed to various ports across the Pacific and Middle East and participated in several major exercises. Her second deployment, beginning in April 1999, took her to Persian Gulf waters. To date (2017), USS Stethem has completed four total deployments and continues to serve as a deterrent and in friendly port calls, centered mainly in the Pacific Ocean.
Note: The above text is EXCLUSIVE to the site www.MilitaryFactory.com. It is the product of many hours of research and work made possible with the help of contributors, veterans, insiders, and topic specialists. If you happen upon this text anywhere else on the internet or in print, please let us know at MilitaryFactory AT gmail DOT com so that we may take appropriate action against the offender / offending site and continue to protect this original work.
USS Arleigh Burke (DDG-51); USS Barry (DDG-52); USS John Paul Jones (DDG-53); USS Curtis Wilber (DDG-54); USS Stout (DDG-55); USS John S. McCain (DDG-56); USS Mitscher (DDG-57); USS Laboon (DDG-58); USS Russell (DDG-59); USS Paul Hamilton (DDG-60); USS Ramage (DDG-61); USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62); USS Stethem (DDG-63); USS Carney (DDG-64); USS Benfold (DDG-65); USS Gonzalez (DDG-66); USS Cole (DDG-67); USS The Sullivans (DDG-68); USS Milius (DDG-69); USS Hopper (DDG-70); USS Ross (DDG-71); USS Mahan (DDG-72); USS Decatur (DDG-73); USS McFaul (DDG-74); USS Donald Cook (DDG-75); USS Higgins (DDG-76); USS O'Kane (DDG-77); USS Porter (DDG-78); USS Oscar Austin (DDG-79); USS Roosevelt (DDG-80); USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG-81); USS Lassen (DDG-82); USS Howard (DDG-83); USS Bulkeley (DDG-84); USS McCampbell (DDG-85); USS Shoup (DDG-86); USS Mason (DDG-87); USS Preble (DDG-88); USS Mustin (DDG-89); USS Chafee (DDG-90); USS Pinkney (DDG-91); USS Momsen (DDG-92); USS Chung-Hoon (DDG-93); USS Nitze (DDG-94); USS James E. Williams (DDG-95); USS Bainbridge (DDG-96); USS Halsey (DDG-97); USS Forrest Sherman (DDG-98); USS Farragut (DDG-99); USS Kidd (DDG-100); USS Gridley (DDG-101); USS Sampson (DDG-102); USS Truxtun (DDG-103); USS Sterett (DDG-104); USS Dewey (DDG-105); USS Stockdale (DDG-106); USS Gravely (DDG-107); USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG-108); USS Jason Dunham (DDG-109); USS William P. Lawrence (DDG-110); USS Spruance (DDG-111); USS Michael Murphy (DDG-112); USS John Finn (DDG-113); USS Ralph Johnson (DDG-114); USS Rafael Peralta (DDG-115); USS Thomas Hunter (DDG-116); USS Paul Ignatius (DDG-117); Daniel Inouye (DDG-118); Delbert D. Black (DDG-119); Unnamed (DDG-120); Unnamed (DDG-121); Unnamed (DDG-122; Unnamed (DDG-122); Unnamed (DDG-123); Unnamed (DDG-124); Unnamed (DDG-125); Unnamed (DDG-126) Ships-in-Class
Offshore Bombardment
Offshore bombardment / attack of surface targets / areas primarily through onboard ballistic weaponry.
Land-Attack
Offshore strike of surface targets primarily through onboard missile / rocket weaponry.
Maritime Patrol
Active patroling of vital waterways and maritime areas; can also serve as local deterrence against airborne and seaborne threats.
Airspace Denial / Deterrence
Neutralization or deterrence of airborne elements through onboard ballistic of missile weaponry.
Fleet Support
Serving in support (either firepower or material) of the main surface fleet in Blue Water environments.
505.0 feet (153.92 meters) Length
66.0 feet (20.12 meters) Beam
31.0 feet (9.45 meters) Draught
8,000 tons Displacement
4 x General Electric LM2500-30 gas turbiens developing 100,000 horsepower to 2 x shafts. Propulsion
The "Military Factory" name and MilitaryFactory.com logo are registered ® U.S. trademarks protected by all applicable domestic and international intellectual property laws. All written content, illustrations, and photography are unique to this website (unless where indicated) and not for reuse/reproduction in any form. Material presented throughout this website is for historical and entertainment value only and should not to be construed as usable for hardware restoration, maintenance, or general operation. We do not sell any of the items showcased on this site. Please direct all other inquiries to militaryfactory AT gmail.com. No A.I. was used in the generation of this content; site is 100% curated by humans.
