Two ships built by Bath Iron Works are deployed in the Middle East, and a third recently left the region, as the United States increases its military presence there amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.
The USS Thomas Hudner and the USS Mason are both deployed to the area. The USS Normandy was recently deployed in the Middle East but is currently in Greece, and it’s unclear whether it will return to combat.
Bath Iron Works, owned by General Dynamics, has built warships for the U.S. military since 1884 and today employs more than 6,000 people. The business is a regular recipient of major government contracts and is a regular target of anti-war protesters for its role constructing ships for the military. Most recently, more than 100 people gathered on Dec. 8 to protest Bath Iron Works’ role in building ships now being used in the Middle East and to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.
The USS Thomas Hudner shot down a drone over the Red Sea in November that was headed toward the ship and had originated in Yemen, according to the Associated Press. The USS Mason also shot down a drone from Yemen over the Red Sea in early December, according to the U.S. Navy.
The U.S. Department of Defense awarded Bath Iron Works in August with contracts to build three more Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. The facility has so far delivered 38 such ships to the Navy.
The Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Thomas Hudner was awarded in 2011 for $662.9 million. The ship was named after Naval Captain Thomas J. Hudner, who received the Medal of Honor from President Harry Truman in 1951. It’s the newest Bath Iron Works-made ship to be deployed.
The USS Mason, another Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, was awarded in 1997 for $337.8 million. The ship carries the legacy of the previous USS Mason, which was in service from 1920 to 1941 and was the first Navy ship with a predominantly African-American crew. In addition to shooting down drones, the newer USS Mason captured five suspected pirates in the Gulf of Aden in November.
The USS Normandy, the oldest of the ships built by BIW that is currently deployed, is a cruiser that was awarded in 1984 for $191.8 million. Named after the French region of Normandy where the D-Day landings happened in 1944, the cruiser was in Piraeus, Greece, as of Tuesday, for a regularly scheduled port visit. It’s unclear whether it will return to active combat.
After the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the USS Normandy aided in humanitarian relief efforts by bringing food, water and supplies to the island nation.
