The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ross entered the Black Sea on May 23 “to work alongside NATO allies and partners in the region enhancing interoperability and improving regional security.”
Ross, forward deployed to Rota, Spain, is conducting Naval operations as part of the US 6th Fleet area of operations.
In 2012 Ross was upgraded to RIM-161 Standard Missile 3 capability in order to function as part of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System.
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov earlier said the US naval presence in the Black Sea often exceeded the time limit provisioned by the Monteux Convention, which sets a 21-day maximum for non-Black Sea nation warships’ presence in the Black Sea.
Another American warship, USS Taylor, earlier violated the terms of the convention by exceeding by 11 days its allowed stay in the Black Sea.
