Destroyer USS Laboon conducted first Nulka at-sea reload during operations for US 5th Fleet

USS Laboon , shown here operating in the Red Sea in June 2024, performed the first at-sea Nulka reloading. (Janes/Michael Fabey)

Guided missile destroyer USS Laboon (DDG 58) performed the first US Navy (USN) at-sea reload of the Nulka system while operating in the US 5th Fleet area of operations, the USN confirmed on 5 August in a release about the ship's deployment.

Developed by Australia, the Nulka system features a rocket-propelled, offboard, active decoy designed to protect warships from anti-ship missiles using a combination of a hovering rocket and an electronic warfare payload.

Laboon was deployed to carrier strike groups in the 5th Fleet and 6th Fleet areas of operations, becoming the first USN ship to shoot down a ballistic missile launched in combat against a maritime vessel during the first part of 2024 soon after the ship arrived in the combat zone, ship officers confirmed to Janes in June 2024 during interviews on the ship as it operated in the Red Sea.

During its deployment, Laboon supported Operations ‘Prosperity Guardianʼ, ‘Poseidon Anchorʼ, and ‘Pandora Throttleʼ, neutralising 28 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), eight anti-ship ballistic missiles, four land-attack cruise missiles, and two anti-ship cruise missiles, the USN said. Laboon also conducted 12 vital escorts through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait and Strait of Hormuz.

For the work in 2024, Laboon was named the best all-around ship in the Atlantic Fleet, showing the most dramatic improvement in battle effectiveness, earning it the Battenberg Cup and the Arleigh Burke trophy, the USN said on 5 August.

Laboon is one of 56 ships capable of ballistic missile defence (BMD).