US Navy USS Winston S. Churchill DDG 81 Arleigh Burke-class destroyer departs for operational deployment.

According to information released by the U.S. DoD (Department of Defense), the U.S. Navy USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG 81) departed August 10, 2020, for an independent deployment to maintain maritime stability and security and ensure access, deter aggression, and defend the U.S., allied and partner interests around the globe.
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USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG 81) patrols the Atlantic waters at dusk. Churchill is conducting integrated training in the Atlantic Ocean. (U.S. Navy video by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Louis Thompson Staats IV)

Most recently, the ship participated in a rigorous Task Force Exercise (TFEX) alongside other U.S. and other coalition ships. A scenario-driven training event, TFEX serves as the certification exercise for independent deploying ships and is designed to test mission readiness and performance in integrated operations.

Unique to the fleet, Churchill is the only U.S. Navy ship to have a Royal Navy officer assigned permanently to ship's company as a symbol of the partnership between the British and American navies. It is also the only U.S. Naval vessel to fly a foreign ensign - the Royal Navy's White Ensign is flown alongside the Stars and Stripes. Churchill is the fifth U.S. warship to be named in honor of an English subject. 

The USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG-81) is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer of the United States Navy. This ship is the 31st destroyer of her class. Winston S. Churchill was the 18th ship of this class to be built at Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine, and construction began on 7 May 1998. She was launched and christened on 17 April 1999. On 10 March 2001, she was commissioned during a ceremony at Town Point Park in Norfolk, Virginia.

The DDG-81 is the first of the Flight IIA variants fitted with the 62-caliber Mark 45 Mod 4 naval gun system. The guns' longer barrels allow more complete combustion of the propellant, reducing barrel flare and improving projectile velocity and firepower against ship and shore targets; additionally, the Mk 45 mod 4 uses a modified gun-house, designed to reduce its radar signature. Winston S. Churchill is armed with Tomahawk, Standard and ASROC (VLA) missiles. 

The ship is deployed with “Spartans” of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 70. It has two hangars for Light Airborne Multi-Purpose System (LAMPS) Sikorsky SH-60B or MH-60R Seahawk helicopters. These LAMPS can be fitted with air-to-surface missiles for surface ship attacks, and torpedoes for submarine attacks.

Armament of the USS Winston S. Churchill includes one 5 inch (127 mm)/62 caliber Mk 45 Mod 4 naval gun, two 25 mm Mk 38 automatic cannons, four .50 cal (12.7 mm) machine guns, two 20 mm Phalanx CIWS (Close-In Weapon Systems), two Mk 32 Mod 11 triple torpedo tubes for able to launch  Mk 46 torpedo or Mk 50 torpedo,  96-cell Mk 41 VLS (Vertical Launching System) able to fire RIM-66 Surface-to-Air Missile 2, BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missile and  RUM-139 VL-ASROC anti-submarine missiles.