USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115)

DDG 115 at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on December 30, 2017. Photo by Michael Jenning.

USS RAFAEL PERALTA is one of the ARLEIGH BURKE Flight IIA guided missile destroyers and the first ship in the Navy named after Marine Corps Sergeant Rafael Peralta.

General Characteristics:	Awarded: September 26, 2011
	Keel laid: February 17, 2012
	Launched: November 1, 2015
	Commissioned: July 29, 2017
	Builder: Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine
	Propulsion system: four General Electric LM 2500 gas turbine engines
	Propellers: two
	Length: 508,5 feet (155 meters)
	Beam: 67 feet (20.4 meters)
	Draft: 30.5 feet (9.3 meters)
	Displacement: approx. 9,200 tons full load
	Speed: 32 knots
	Aircraft: two SH-60 (LAMPS 3) helicopters
	Armament: one Mk-45 5"/62 caliber lightweight gun, two Mk-41 VLS for Standard missiles and Tomahawk ASM/LAM, one 20mm Phalanx CIWS, two Mk-32 triple torpedo tubes for Mk-50 and Mk-46 torpedoes, two Mk 38 Mod 2 25mm machine gun systems
	Homeport: Yokosuka, Japan
	Crew: approx. 320

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Crew List:

This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USS RAFAEL PERALTA. It is no official listing but contains the names of sailors who submitted their information.

Click here to view the list.

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About the Ship's Namesake:

The ship was named for Marine Corps Sergeant Rafael Peralta as a result of actions occurring during what is known as the Second Battle of Fallujah. While clearing houses in Fallujah, Iraq, on Nov. 15, 2004 a Marine squad, including Peralta, entered a house where the enemy silently waited. The squad was instantly barraged with intense small arms fire.

The fire knocked Peralta to the ground and mortally wounded him. As the firefight continued, the fleeing enemy threw a fragmentation grenade into the building. Peralta absorbed most of the grenade's blast with his body, thus saving the lives of two fellow marines. Sergeant Peralta died from his wounds. In 2008 Peralta was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for his extraordinary heroism.

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About the Ship's Coat of Arms:

Description:

Azure (Dark Blue), on a pale Argent, between two lions combatant Or, armed of the second, langued Gules, each charged in dexter with a cross pattee convexed Khaki, fimbriated of the first, surmounted by a roundel of the fifth and in sinister with a heart Purpure. Three chevronels embowed and couped of the fourth in chief and in base an Aztec war eagle Sable. On a base Argent (Steel), a compass rose of the second fimbriated of the first. Behind the shield, a rifle palewise Sable, muzzle downward, the rifle stock supporting a helm Proper, surmounted by a U.S. Navy Officer sword and U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer cutlass in saltire, points upward, all Proper. On a scroll Azure lined Or, the Latin inscription "FORTIS AD FINEM", which translates to "Courageous to the End" Argent.

Symbolism:

Dark blue and gold are the colors traditionally associated with the Navy, representing the sea and excellence. The two lions, adapted from the Mexican Federal District Coat of Arms where Sgt. Peralta was born, symbolize his bravery and act of courage when, despite his wounds, he saved the lives of his fellow Marines. Each lion bears the commendations awarded for his selfless act - the Navy Cross on the left and the Purple Heart to the right, both awarded posthumously. The pale denotes naval strength and displays three arched and couped chevronels, indicating Sgt. Peralta's military rank while serving in the Marines. The war eagle honors his Aztec heritage. The gray base suggests the prow of a ship, highlighting the vessel's namesake, USS RAFAEL PERALTA (DDG 115). The compass rose emphasizes the worldwide scope and the ship's capabilities of integrated air and missile defense, anti-surface warfare, undersea warfare and amphibious readiness group support. The Marine Corps helmet with desert pattern cover positioned on the rifle stock is a tribute to the fallen Marine. The crossed Navy Officer sword and Navy Chief Petty Officer cutlass symbolizes the collaboration and teamwork of the officers and crew members of the RAFAEL PERALTA. The swords are tips up, signifying a crew that is ready for battle. The Latin motto, "FORTIS AD FINEM", commemorates Sgt. Peralta's character while serving in Iraq, "Courageous to the End". The coat of arms as blazoned in full color on a white oval encircled by a red designation band, edged with a gold rope and bearing the name "USS RAFAEL PERALTA" at the top and "DDG 115" at base, all gold. Red and gold are the colors traditionally associated with the Marine Corps. The red circular design conveys Sgt. Peralta's eternal sacrifice.

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USS RAFAEL PERALTA History:

USS RAFAEL PERALTA emerged from the post-DDG-1000 restart of the ARLEIGH BURKE program when the Navy awarded a DDG-51 construction contract to General Dynamics Bath Iron Works on September 26, 2011, making her the first restart destroyer to be built at BIW. The ship's keel was authenticated at Bath, Maine on October 30, 2014, with the namesake's mother, Rosa Peralta, serving as sponsor. She was christened on October 31, 2015, achieved Aegis system light-off in mid-December 2015, completed alpha (builder's) trials off the Maine coast on October 18, 2016, finished acceptance trials that December, and delivered to the Navy on February 3, 2017. Commissioned at Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, on July 29, 2017, the destroyer then began fitting-out and basic training for West Coast service.

Through 2018, the ship progressed through combat systems qualifications, including a Combat Systems Ship's Qualification Trial period off Point Mugu in January, and settled into her initial homeport routine in San Diego while building readiness for blue-water employment. A change of command followed on July 22, 2019, as the crew continued pre-deployment workups typical for a Pacific Fleet destroyer.

On January 17, 2020, RAFAEL PERALTA deployed from San Diego with the THEODORE ROOSEVELT (CVN 71) Carrier Strike Group for a first operational cruise focused on presence and sea control in the Indo-Pacific. Early in the deployment she completed an overseas port visit to Sasebo, Japan (February 8), continued underway logistics with the strike group and Military Sealift Command ships, and spent the bulk of the seven-and-a-half-month cruise operating across the U.S. 7th Fleet theater. In August, while returning east across the Pacific, she joined a small multinational group bound for Hawaii and took part in the at-sea iteration of RIMPAC 2020 before arriving home in San Diego on September 3, 2020, to close her maiden deployment.

On February 4, 2021, the destroyer completed a homeport shift to Fleet Activities Yokosuka, joining U.S. 7th Fleet as a Forward-Deployed Naval Forces (FDNF) unit under DESRON 15. She quickly settled into the FDNF operating cycle, conducting a multi-domain maritime presence operation in the Sea of Japan from June 11-15, 2021, and that summer integrated with allied air and naval units during exercise Talisman Sabre 21 in and around Australia - an exercise designed to sharpen allied interoperability and demonstrate collective security interests in the Indo-Pacific.

Following a maintenance period in Japan, RAFAEL PERALTA resumed operations in 2022 under 7th Fleet tasking. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday visited the ship at Yokosuka on November 7, 2022, during a regional swing through forward-deployed surface forces, underscoring the ship's role within DESRON 15's high-tempo schedule.

In early 2023, the destroyer completed a 10-day Surface Warfare Advanced Tactical Training (SWATT) syllabus to refine integrated tactics, then executed a series of presence and engagement events around Japan and Korea: a first-in-nine-years U.S. Navy port visit to Tomakomai, Hokkaido (January 30-February 3), a scheduled visit at Jeju, Republic of Korea (departing March 3), and a November 9-13 port call at Donghae on Korea's east coast. During the major allied exercise Talisman Sabre 23, RAFAEL PERALTA conducted a live SM-2 firing in the Coral Sea on July 22 and, on August 22, completed the Navy's first-ever live ordnance vertical-launch reload alongside a pier at Eden, Australia - an operational proof-of-concept to expand logistics options with close allies. In the autumn patrol she operated in the South China Sea, then on November 1 transited the Taiwan Strait northbound with the Royal Canadian Navy frigate HMCS OTTAWA, a lawful transit in international waters consistent with long-standing allied assertions of high-seas freedoms. The patrol later included a repair and engagement visit to Singapore announced November 15.

The ship remained busy in 2024 with frequent underway periods tied to allied training and regional deterrence. On January 31, she joined the CARL VINSON (CVN 70) and THEODORE ROOSEVELT Carrier Strike Groups and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's JS ISE (DDH 182) for a Multi-Large Deck Event in the Philippine Sea. The Navy noted RAFAEL PERALTA among the participating CSG-1 surface combatants alongside USS PRINCETON (CG 59), USS STERETT (DDG 104), USS DEWEY, and USS JOHN FINN (DDG 113). On March 11-13 she became the first U.S. destroyer to visit Ishigaki, Okinawa Prefecture, for community engagement and local media outreach before returning to sea for routine tasking. In April the crew received the Pacific Fleet's Anti-Submarine Warfare "Bloodhound" Award from DESRON 15, recognizing top performance in theater ASW. In June she supported exercise Valiant Shield 24 - where Carrier Strike Group 5's commander embarked and assessed operations at sea - and conducted bilateral U.S.-Japan operations noted on June 21. Throughout early summer she executed air and maritime warfare training, including helicopter flight operations in the Philippine Sea in early July.

By 2025, RAFAEL PERALTA continued forward-deployed service from Yokosuka within Task Force 71, sustaining a pattern of sea control patrols, allied exercises, and periodic maintenance in Japan.

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Homeports of USS RAFAEL PERALTA:

Period	Homeport
commissioned at San Diego, Calif.
2017 - 2021	San Diego, Calif.
2021 - present	Yokosuka, Japan

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USS RAFAEL PERALTA Image Gallery:

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the RAFAEL PERALTA under construction at Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine., on May 4, 2015.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the RAFAEL PERALTA at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on December 29 and 30, 2017.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the RAFAEL PERALTA arriving at San Diego, Calif., on September 28, 2018. The last photos show her at the Naval Base a few hours later. She's flying her impressive "Lava Dogs" flag featuring the Aztec war eagle which is referring to SGT Rafael Peralta's Aztec heritage and his US Marine Corps unit - the First Battalion, Third Marines - nicknamed the "Lava Dogs". The crew of USS RAFAEL PERALTA is also using the nickname "Lava Dogs" for the ship's personnel.