USS Farragut (DDG-99)

USS Farragut (DDG-99) is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer in the United States Navy. She is the fifth Navy ship named for Admiral David Farragut (1801–1870), and the 49th ship of the Arleigh Burke class.

The Farragut keel was laid down on 9 January 2004 at the Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine. She was christened on 23 July 2005, with Senator Susan Collins of Maine as her sponsor. Farragut was commissioned on 10 June 2006.

Farragut is also equipped with the Smart Ship data distribution and control system.

Farragut departed Naval Station Mayport for her maiden deployment on 7 April 2008 in support of the Partnership of the Americas 2008 (POA 08). She returned home after six months on 5 October 2008.

Farragut departed Naval Station Mayport again in January 2010 for her second deployment, heading for the CENTCOM Area of Responsibility (AOR). After a quick transit through the Mediterranean Sea, she made her way south through the Suez Canal and into the Red Sea en route Djibouti, Djibouti to embark and become the flagship for Combined Task Force 151, the task force responsible for Counter-Piracy in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean. See "Engagements" section below for engagements while acting as CTF 151 Flagship. Farragut then enjoyed a port visit to Port Victoria, Seychelles. After turning over the duties of CTF 151, Farragut enjoyed port visits to Salala, Oman and Manama, Bahrain, before rendezvousing with USS Dwight D. Eisenhower to assume shotgun duties for the aircraft carrier. Once complete with all tasking in CENTCOM, Farragut sailed back west through the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea to enjoy port visits in Santander, Spain and Lisbon, Portugal, before returning home to Naval Station Mayport in August 2010. Farragut enjoyed a "beer day" after spending approximately 60 days straight out to sea, and also crossed the equator, where many polywogs became Shellbacks.

On 24 August 2012, Farragut accidentally exposed the Norwegian Coast Guard ship KV Nordkapp to a dangerous level of Microwaves during the Northern Eagle exercise, causing material damage to the Coast Guard ship and sending several people aboard to hospital.

Engagements
On 21 February 2010, a SH-60B Seahawk helicopter from Farragut disrupted two attempts by Somali pirates to attack the Tanzanian vessel MV Barakaale 1. The helicopter then stopped the pirate skiff as it attempted to speed away, by firing warning shots across its bow. A Visit, Board, Search and Seizure (VBSS) team from Farragut boarded the vessel and the eight suspected pirates were taken aboard Farragut.

For the majority of her 2010 deployment the CENTCOM AOR, Farragut served as flagship of Combined Task Force 151 (CTF-151), on an anti-piracy mission. On 1 April 2010, three suspected pirate boats fired on a Sierra Leone flagged tanker, MV Evita, north-west of the Seychelles. The Evita was fired on, but managed to escape, in part by crew firing flares at their attackers. They reported the attack to CTF-151, and Farragut responded. After boarding the pirate skiffs, and moving the pirates to the smaller, less capable skiffs, Farragut destroyed the pirate "mother" skiff.

On 29 January 2013 Yemeni authorities working alongside the Farragut intercepted a ship in the Arabian sea carrying an illegal-arms cache. The cache included surface-to-air missiles, C-4 explosives, rocket propelled grenades and other weapons.