USS Louisville arrives in Subic Bay

The Los Angeles-class submarine USS Louisville (SSN 724) arrived in Subic Bay Tuesday (Feb. 14) for a brief port call that highlights the strong community and military connections between the Philippines and the United States.

The Louisville crew will participate in a series of community service projects and sporting events during the crew’s visit to the Philippines.

The ship will also use the stop to conduct some minor maintenance with the assistance of Filipino companies.

This is the second time Louisville visited the free port. It made its first port call in Subic Bay in 2012.

The Philippines is a longstanding treaty ally of the United States with a history of partnership of more than 70 years. The American and Philippine militaries have worked closely together on areas of mutual interest such as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, counter terrorism, cybersecurity and maritime security.

Louisville is forward-deployed to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations in support of security and stability in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.

According to the official US Navy web site, the Louisville’s mission is to “seek out and destroy enemy ships and submarines, and to protect our naval interests.”

Like 31 of the 51 Los Angeles types in the US Navy’s submarine fleet, the Louisville is equipped with 12 vertical US launch system tubes for firing Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles. It also carries Harpoon anti-surface ship missiles with a range of 70 nautical miles (130 km) and has mine-laying capabilities.

As an attack submarine, the Louisville has received awards for its role in the Navy’s Middle East campaign. It reportedly carried out the first war patrol conducted by an American submarine since World War II as Operation: Desert Storm began in January 1991, and also earned the distinction of being the first to launch Tomahawk cruise missiles against targets in Iraq, as well as having fired the first war shot of Desert Storm. (SNL)

PHOTO:
A tugboat guides the USS Louisville (SSN-724), a Los Angeles-class attack submarine, as she approaches the Alava Pier of Subic Bay Freeport Tuesday (February 14) for a routine port visit. (AMD/MPD-SBMA)