USS Farragut Tour: Rare Look Inside US Navy Guided-Missile Destroyer

USS Farragut is named for Adm. David Glasgow Farragut, a Civil War-era naval commander and the first person to be awarded the rank of admiral in the US Navy, according to the US Navy’s official website. He is also remembered for his order at the 1864 Battle of Mobile Bay: “Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!”

The Farragut measures 509 feet and 6 inches long and has a crew of about 350 people. It was built by General Dynamics Bath Iron Works in Maine and is homeported at Naval Station Mayport in Jacksonville, Florida. The Department of Defense has continued to build these versatile warships and has asked to buy one of the $2.5 billion ships for the upcoming fiscal year.

Vice President JD Vance sailed on the Farragut during a parade of naval ships held in New York City on July 4.

The Farragut has opened to the public at past Fleet Week events in other cities, but it wasn’t offering public tours at Sail4th 250. I was able to join a special tour of the ship held for US Navy veterans and their families.

The command duty officer told us to move carefully through the ship and to pay attention to pipes, wires, electrical boxes, and other machinery protruding from the floor.

“This ship is designed to protect our nation, but it’s not people-friendly,” he said.

He also said that we could only take photos topside, not inside the ship, and that crew members wouldn’t go into detail about classified systems on board.

The small boats are used for man-overboard recoveries and transferring personnel or supplies to and from other ships. They are also used for boarding other ships.

The Mark 45 5-inch gun can fire up to 20 rounds per minute. The deck gun fires a high-explosive round with a diameter of 5 inches.

The 5-inch gun features a 22.5-foot-long barrel and can rotate rapidly to acquire targets. The red circle indicates the area sailors need to avoid so they don’t get hit by the turret when it moves during firing or maintenance work.

The SPY-1 electronically directs its beams to search for and track the position and velocity of targets rapidly.

Named for the shield carried by Zeus in Greek mythology, the Aegis combat system can simultaneously search for and track over 100 targets and assign targets to the ship’s weapons.

The system is capable of launching several types of weapons, such as surface-to-air interceptors, a missile-launched torpedo to attack submarines, and Tomahawk cruise missiles for long-range strikes.

In the Mark 41 VLS, canistered missiles are kept beneath the armored deck for maximum survivability.

USS Farragut was photographed launching a Standard Missile-2 during Surface Warfare Advanced Tactical Training, or SWATT, in 2022.

Arleigh Burke-class destroyers like the Farragut are 153 feet tall, so lots of steep ladders are involved in moving around the ship.

The forward VLS features a 32-cell launcher module, while the aft VLS has 64 cells.

The signs were a stark reminder that the Farragut is an active warship with lethal firepower. The ship’s weather decks are closed to crew members for safety during missile launches.

Pronounced “see-whiz,” CIWS “automatically detects, tracks, and engages” close-range threats that penetrate the ship’s other defenses, according to the US Navy. It has a 20mm cannon and can fire 4,500 rounds per minute.

“It’s usually a bad day if we have to use that,” our guide said.

USS Farragut can carry two MH-60R Seahawk helicopters, known as “Romeo” aircraft. These aircraft can hunt for submarines or ferry crew and critical supplies to and from the ship. It’s designed to carry up to five passengers in addition to its flight crew.

A German Navy frigate, FGS Sachsen, was docked right next to the Farragut and used its flight deck as a bridge for its own gangway — an example of the close relationships between the US Navy and its international allies that all of the ships were there to celebrate.