These US Destroyers Are The Lynchpin Of The European Missile Defense Shield

The Navy is deploying four Guided Missile destroyers to Rota, Spain to serve as an integral part of the European Defense Shield.

Here's why that's so huge. Naval Station Rota is located right next to the Strait of Gibraltar, the Atlantic gateway into the Mediterranean and one of the most important shipping corridors in the world.

Rota is also located halfway between the United States and western Asia, making it a vital stop for forces headed to the Middle East in need of fuel or supplies. 

We took a look at the four destroyers headed over to Spain — the USS Ross, USS Porter, USS Carney and the USS Cook. 

Four ships may have never played a more key role in U.S. defense.

The USS Ross was commissioned in 1997 and has almost 300 crew

The Ross is 505 feet long and weighs around 9,000 tons full

In 2009 the Missile Defense Agency announced that the Ross would be upgraded to hold the advanced Standard Missile-3

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