USS Ross: Inside the US Warship that has docked at Mombasa Port

The grey warship now sitting at the Port of Mombasa is not an ordinary naval vessel.

The USS Ross (DDG 71) is one of the US Navy's Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers, a class built to perform several missions at once - from air and missile defence to anti-submarine warfare and long-range strikes.

It arrived in Mombasa on September 5, 2026, for a scheduled port visit.

The US Navy says such visits allow ships to conduct logistics and resupply, maintain operational readiness and engage with partner forces.

Washington has also linked the visit to its longstanding security relationship with Kenya and cooperation on maritime security.

But the ship's timing has attracted attention because Ross has been operating in the Middle East during a period of heightened US military activity.

What exactly is the USS Ross?

"USS" stands for United States Ship, the prefix given to commissioned US Navy vessels.

The Ross carries the designation DDG 71.

"DDG" identifies it as a guided-missile destroyer, while 71 is the ship's hull number.

Ross belongs to the Arleigh Burke class, one of the most important surface-warship classes in the US Navy.

The class began with USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 51), commissioned in 1991, and has undergone successive upgrades in sensors, weapons and combat systems.

The US Navy describes the destroyers as multi-mission warships capable of operating independently or as part of larger carrier and expeditionary groups.

Ross is a Flight I ship - the original version of the class. DDGs 51 through 71 are classified as Flight I ships.

How big is the USS Ross?

Ross is about 153.9 metres long, roughly 20 metres wide and displaces more than 8,000 tonnes depending on configuration and load.

Four General Electric LM2500 gas turbines generate about 100,000 shaft horsepower, driving two shafts and pushing the destroyer to speeds above 30 knots, or more than 55 km/h.

The ship's official Navy information gives a speed above 31 knots.

That combination of speed, sensors and weapons allows the ship to move rapidly between theatres while remaining capable of independent combat operations.

What weapons are onboard USS Ross?

This is where the Ross becomes considerably more than a conventional patrol ship.

Its combat system can employ surface-to-air missiles, Tomahawk cruise missiles, anti-ship missiles, anti-submarine rockets and torpedoes.

It also carries the five-inch Mk 45 naval gun and Phalanx close-in weapon systems for defence against nearby threats.

At the heart of the ship is the Aegis Weapon System, an integrated radar, command and fire-control system designed to detect, track and engage multiple threats.

Ross uses the Mk 41 Vertical Launching System (VLS), which can launch different missile families, including Standard Missiles, Tomahawk missiles, anti-submarine rockets and Evolved Sea Sparrow missiles.

The Flight I Arleigh Burke design has 90 VLS cells, arranged in forward and aft launchers.

That versatility is central to the Arleigh Burke concept: instead of being built for one specialized job, the destroyer can defend itself and other ships, hunt submarines, engage surface targets and conduct long-range strikes.

What is Aegis?

Aegis is effectively the ship's combat brain.

The system combines radar, sensors, command functions and weapons control so the ship can detect and respond to threats much faster than a system in which each weapon operates separately.

The US Navy says Ross can operate against air, surface and underwater threats, with Aegis coordinating its combat capabilities.

Ross has also demonstrated ballistic-missile-defence capabilities during previous deployments and exercises.

In 2021, for example, the ship fired an SM-2 missile during Exercise Formidable Shield in a test involving an air target.

Three decades of service

Ross was built at Pascagoula, Mississippi. Its keel was laid on April 10, 1995, and it was commissioned on June 28, 1997.

The destroyer is named after Donald Kirby Ross, a US Navy officer who received the Medal of Honor for his actions aboard USS Nevada during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

Ross continued serving through the Second World War before retiring as a captain.

The ship itself has an operational record stretching back to the late 1990s.

It supported Operation Allied Force in the Balkans in 1999, including Tomahawk missile strikes, and later provided air-defence capabilities during operations following the September 11 attacks.

From Europe to Middle East

For years, Ross was closely associated with US naval operations in Europe and Africa.

It spent almost a decade as a forward-deployed ship based in Rota, Spain, conducting 12 patrols and participating in multinational exercises with NATO and other partner countries across the Mediterranean, Baltic, Black and Barents seas.

In September 2022, it shifted its homeport back to Norfolk, Virginia.

Ross departed Norfolk in March 2026 as part of the George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group, alongside the USS George H.W. Bush, USS Donald Cook and USS Mason.

More than 5,000 personnel were assigned to the carrier strike group.

By August 2026, the ship was operating in the US 5th Fleet area of operations in the Middle East.

US Central Command material shows Ross conducting operations there, including flight operations involving an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter.

Kenyan reports have linked the deployment to US operations involving Iran, including Operation Epic Fury and the US blockade.

Importantly, the US Navy has described the Mombasa stop as a scheduled port visit.

It has not said the visit is an extension of the Iran operation.