USS Oscar Austin heads to Spain for beefed up destroyer presence 

The Oscar Austin is headed to its new homeport in Rota, Spain as the Navy beefs up its destroyer presence there from four to six warships.

The Oscar Austin, which got underway from Naval Station Norfolk on Monday, is the first of two destroyers set to join the current Forward Deployed Naval Force-Europe. Another unnamed destroyer will arrive in Rota in 2026, the Navy said.

“Shifting Oscar Austin’s homeport to Rota is the next step in bolstering U.S. and NATO maritime presence and combat power in Europe as well as increasing the capacity to execute the One Atlantic concept,” Adm. Daryl Caudle, commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command, said in a Navy news release last month. “The One Atlantic concept improves the ability to share, leverage, and fully utilize naval forces in response to threats and strategic competitors while conducting multi-mission operations across the Atlantic by multiple Combatant Commanders.”

The Navy unveiled plans to bolster its destroyer presence in Rota in 2022. While the Navy said that Russian provocations didn’t prompt the move, the announcement came after five East Coast destroyers conducted a surge deployment in early 2022 to the U.S. 6th Fleet to provide additional flexibility and to support NATO allies.

Destroyers Arleigh Burke, Roosevelt, Paul Ignatius and Bulkeley are stationed in Rota as part of Forward Deployed Naval Force-Europe. The force operates throughout the waters of Europe and Africa, from the Cape of Good Hope to the Arctic Circle, according to the Navy.

The Oscar Austin is named after Medal of Honor and Purple Heart recipient Private 1st Class Oscar P. Austin, who served in the Vietnam War.