An Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer is deploying to provide security along the U.S. southern border, carrying a Coast Guard law enforcement detachment, Navy officials said.
The 510’x66’ USS Gravely (DDG 107) departed Naval Weapons Station Yorktown for service in the U.S. Northern Command Area of Responsibility March 15. The ship will operate in U.S. and international waters, part of the Trump administration push to bolster border security with more military assets.
The Gravely returned in July after a nine-month deployment that included escorting the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and defending shipping in the Red Sea against Iranian-backed Houthi militants based in Yemen.
The Gravely participated in strikes firing Tomahawk cruise missiles against Houthi installations on land, and in January 2024 used its Phalanx close-in weapons station to shoot down an incoming Houthi anti-ship cruise missile.
In waters off the southern U.S. the Gravely is moving into maritime role typically filled by the Coast Guard. The Trump administration has already signaled its will to bring military firepower to bear against drug cartels that operate in the region.
The destroyer “will contribute to the U.S. Northern Command southern border mission as part of the DoD’s coordinated effort in response to the Presidential Executive Order. Gravely’s sea-going capacity improves our ability to protect the United States’ territorial integrity, sovereignty, and security,” said Gen. Gregory Guillot, commander of the U.S. Northern Command.
Deploying a Navy warship to the border effort brings a “coordinated and robust response to combating maritime related terrorism, weapons proliferation, transnational crime, piracy, environmental destruction, and illegal seaborne immigration,” according to a Navy statement.
“The deployment of Gravely marks a vital enhancement to our nation’s border security framework,” said Adm. Daryl Caudle, commander, U.S. Naval Forces Northern Command. “In collaboration with our interagency partners, Gravely strengthens our maritime presence and exemplifies the Navy’s commitment to national security and safeguarding our territorial integrity with professionalism and resolve.”
Members of the embarked Coast Guard detachment can carry out maritime interdiction missions, including alien migration interdiction, military force protection, counter terrorism, homeland security, and humanitarian response, according to the Navy.
