Press Releases 2009
Press release
October 22, 2009
USS COLE Arrives to Tallinn
The U.S. Embassy is pleased to announce that an American Navy ship - the USS COLE (DDG 67) - will pull into Tallinn harbor on October 24.
The USS COLE was commissioned on June 8, 1996 and is an ARLEIGH BURKE-class Aegis-equipped guided missile destroyer home ported in NS Norfolk, Virginia. The COLE is named in honor of Marine Sergeant Darrell S. Cole, a machine-gunner killed in action on Iwo Jima on 19 February 1945, during World War II.
Guided missile destroyers operate to safeguard and support carrier battle groups, surface action groups, amphibious ready groups and underway replenishment groups. Destroyers (DD) primarily perform anti-submarine warfare duty; however, guided missile destroyers (DDG) are multi-mission (anti-submarine, anti-air and anti-surface warfare) surface combatants.
The ARLEIGH BURKE class represents a culmination of technological advances that have improved the capability of modern destroyers. Named for the Navy's most famous destroyer squadron combat commander and three-time Chief of Naval Operations, ARLEIGH BURKE (DDG 51) was commissioned July 4, 1991 and was the most powerful surface combatant ever put to sea.
Designed for survivability, the DDG 51 class incorporates all-steel construction and many damage control features resulting from lessons learned during the Falkland Islands War and from the accidental attack on USS STARK. Like most modern U.S. surface combatants, the DDG 51 class utilizes gas turbine propulsion. Like the larger TICONDEROGA class cruisers, the DDG 51 class combat system centers around the Aegis Combat System and the SPY-1D, multi-function, phased array radar. Combining Aegis, the Vertical Launching System, an advanced anti-submarine warfare system, advanced anti-aircraft missiles, Tomahawk land attack missiles, and unique survivability features; the ARLEIGH BURKE class of guided missile destroyers continues the revolution at sea.
Information for the press:
Members of the press are invited for a press tour. If you are interested in visiting the ship on Saturday, October 24, please register by e-mail at tuiskm@state.gov or phone at 668-8150 by 15.30 October 23.
All members of the press will be asked to present two documents - a valid picture ID and current press credential - in order to have access to the ship.
The press tour will take place from 16:00 to 17:00 on pier 17 in the Port of Tallinn.