USN Destroyer USS Spruance Earns 13 Kill Marks in the Red Sea
The U.S. Navy is likely to continue its deployment in the Red Sea to protect the shipping route.
As cruel and heartless as it may seem, kill marks (aka victory markings) are a time-honored method for the crew of warplanes, warships, and fighting ground vehicles to denote and commemorate the destruction of their enemy’s war machines, in the guise of symbols of the vanquished machined applied in stencil or decal to the side of the vanquishers’ machine.
Besides posterity, these kill markings also provide a historical snapshot of the type of combat faced by the victorious participants. The latest example of these artistic insights can be seen in the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Spruance (DDG-211) and its accomplishments in the ongoing Red Sea campaign against the Houthi terrorist group in Yemen.
Combat in the Red Sea
News of the Spruance’s accomplishments comes to us courtesy of Newsweek reporter Ryan Chan in a January 20, 2025, story—republished on MSN—titled “US Warship ‘Kill Marks’ Reveal Details About Red Sea Combat.” To wit:
“According to a photo published last Friday by the official Facebook page of the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Spruance, at least 13 ‘kill marks’ were visible on the hull of the warship, reflecting the numbers of missiles and drones it shot down during its Red Sea deployment … The destroyer shot down three anti-ship ballistic missiles, three anti-ship cruise missiles, and seven unmanned aerial vehicles in the Red Sea, McLane revealed during the Surface Navy Association conference last Tuesday, according to specialist outlet The War Zone … On November 9 to 10 last year, U.S. forces, including the Spruance, ‘successfully engaged and defeated’ four anti-ship cruise missiles, five anti-ship ballistic missiles, and eight drones while transiting the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, the U.S. Central Command reported.”
USS Spruance (DDG-211) History and Specifications
USS Spruance was laid down on May 14, 2009; launched on June 6, 2010; and commissioned on October 1, 2011. She is an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, not to be confused with the Spruance-class destroyers of the 1972-1983 vintage (these were fully retired by 2005). Proudly built by General Dynamics Bath Iron Works of Bath, Maine, Burke-class warships have the following specifications:
- Displacement: 9,200 tons
- Hull Length: 510 ft (160 m)
- Beam Width: 66 ft (20 m)
- Draft: 33 ft (10 m)
- Speed: 30+ knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
- Range: 4,400 nautical miles (8,100 km; 5,100 mi)
- Crew Complement: 260 commissioned officers and enlisted sailors
- Armament:
- Guns: one 5-inch (127 mm)/62 Mk 45 mod 4 (lightweight gun); one 20 mm (0.8 in) Phalanx CIWS (Close-In Weapons System); two × 25 mm (0.98 in) Mk 38 machine gun system; four × .50 caliber (12.7 mm) caliber Browning M2 “Ma Deuce” machine guns
- Missiles: one × 32-cell, one × 64-cell (ninety-six total cells) Lockheed Martin Mk 41 vertical launching system (VLS); currently integrated with Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM), Tomahawk Cruise Missile, Standard Missile 2, Standard Missile 3, Standard Missile 6, and Vertical Launch ASROC (VLA)
- Torpedoes: two × Mark 32 triple torpedo tubes; integrated with the Mk 46, Mk 50, and Mk 54 lightweight torpedoes
The vessel was named for Admiral Raymond Ames Spruance, one of the masterminds (along with Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher, who had also had an entire class of U.S. Navy (USN) destroyers named in his honor) of the USN’s smashing victory over Imperial Japan during the Battle of Midway that turned the tide of the Pacific Theatre in World War II.
The Way Forward?
Chan concludes his article by noting that “While the Houthis have announced suspension of their attacks in response to a ceasefire deal struck between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement in Gaza last week, the U.S. Navy is likely to continue its deployment in the Red Sea to protect the shipping route.”
Meanwhile, with the Trump administration having officially redesignated the Houthis as a terrorist group, it remains to be seen if the Houthis use this political rebuke as a convenient excuse to resume their aggressive actions. Time will tell, or if you prefer, “Inshallah.”
About the Author: Christian D. Orr
Christian D. Orr was previously a Senior Defense Editor for National Security Journal (NSJ) and 19FortyFive. He is a former Air Force Security Forces officer, Federal law enforcement officer, and private military contractor (with assignments worked in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kosovo, Japan, Germany, and the Pentagon). Chris holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California (USC) and an M.A. in Intelligence Studies (concentration in Terrorism Studies) from American Military University (AMU). He has also been published in The Daily Torch, The Journal of Intelligence and Cyber Security, and Simple Flying. Last but not least, he is a Companion of the Order of the Naval Order of the United States (NOUS). If you’d like to pick his brain further, you can ofttimes find him at the Old Virginia Tobacco Company (OVTC) lounge in Manassas, Virginia, partaking of fine stogies and good quality human camaraderie.
Image: Chuck Wagner / Shutterstock.com