The USS Roosevelt returned to Naval Station Rota, Spain, its homeport, after its second patrol with the Sixth Fleet this year, the U.S. Navy reported.

The Arleigh Burke-class destroyer departed Rota on March 29 for the second Forward-Deployed Naval Forces-Europe patrol in the U.S. Sixth Fleet area of operations, and returned on Tuesday.

While deployed, the ship participated in a variety of exercises with U.S. forces and those of partner nations, starting with the exercise Black Toro in the North Atlantic Ocean, an enhanced anti-submarine warfare operation with U.S. Navy surface vessels and the submarine USS Vermont.

The ship then traveled to the Aegean Sea for maritime and security operations, forming a Surface Action Group with the USS Donald Cook.

It later participated in the NATO-led air and defense exercise At-Sea Demo/Formidable Shield 2021, involving 150 warfare training serials and live-fire events.

The USS Roosevelt then entered the Baltic Sea to participate in the BALTOPS 50 exercise, an interoperability drill involving navies of 15 nations. It then transited north of the Arctic Circle for the anti-submarine exercise Shark Hunt 2021.

"Our sailors have met every challenge to meet mission requirements and successfully complete patrol," said Cmdr. Ryan Kendall, commanding officer of the ship. "They have displayed unparalleled professionalism and expertise while using this valuable time at sea to refine their maritime warfare tactics across the entire spectrum of naval operations."

Navy to christen future USS Nantucket on Saturday
 Washington DC (UPI) Aug 6, 2021 –

The future USS Nantucket, the U.S. Navy's 27th littoral combat ship, will be ceremonially christened on Saturday, the Defense Department announced on Friday.

The ceremony welcoming the third ship in Navy history to carry the name will be conducted at Marinette, Wis., where it was built by Fincantieri Marinette Marine.

Ship's sponsor Polly Spencer will break a bottle of sparkling wine over the ship's bow, and Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., is scheduled to be the keynote speaker.

The future USS Nantucket will be the Navy's 14th Freedom-class littoral combat ship, designed to operate in near-shore environments yet capable of fast movement on open seas.

The steel monohulled Freedom ships, 387.6 feet long, are homeported at Naval Station Mayport, Fla., and differ in design from the catamaran-inspired Independence class.

The new ship's name was chosen to "honor the maritime history and heritage of the people of Nantucket," an island near Cape Cod, Mass., Navy spokesman Lt. Joshua Kelsey said.

Nantucket Harbormaster Sheila Lucey, who will attend Saturday's event, said the ship will visit the namesake island in 2022 but most likely will stay at sea because the ship's draft is too deep to safely make it into the harbor.

Littoral combat ships first entered Navy service in 2008. Four of the 27 built have been decommissioned.