A United States Navy Arleigh Burke–class destroyer, the USS Delbert D. Black (DDG-119), departed the Israeli port of Eilat on 1 February after completing a scheduled visit, US Central Command and the US Fifth Fleet announced on social media. The brief stop, publicly posted by both commands, underlines the Navy’s continuing pattern of port calls and forward deployment in the eastern Mediterranean and northern Red Sea.
Earlier this month US Central Command also published images of sailors conducting routine maintenance aboard the destroyer USS Paul Hamilton (DDG-60)’s sister ship the Mitchell on 16 January, noting the vessel is currently deployed in the Middle East. The simultaneous posting of a completed port visit and maintenance activity showcases two aspects of naval operations: diplomatic engagement ashore and essential sustainment at sea.
Eilat sits at the northern tip of the Red Sea, at the Gulf of Aqaba, a choke-point linking Israel to global maritime routes through the Suez Canal. Port calls there facilitate logistics, crew rest and ship upkeep, and offer symbolic reassurance to partners. For the US Navy, such visits help sustain extended deployments from bases in the Gulf, including the Fifth Fleet’s area of responsibility centered in Bahrain and Central Command’s broader regional remit.
The region’s unstable security environment—maritime harassment, missile and drone use, and the prospect of wider confrontation—has made visible naval presence more consequential in recent years. While this particular visit appears routine, recurrent port calls and public imagery of maintenance operations serve a dual purpose: they reassure allies that US assets remain on station and send a subtle message of readiness to potential adversaries without escalating rhetoric.
Taken together, the social-media releases reflect an operational rhythm: rotation of guided-missile destroyers through the region, periodic maintenance to sustain high-tempo operations, and the use of port diplomacy to reinforce partnerships. Such activities are unlikely to draw headlines on their own, but they are a necessary backbone of sustained maritime power projection and coalition interoperability in a strategically vital corridor.
The USS Delbert D. Black’s departure from Eilat is therefore best read as routine practice rather than a change in posture. Still, continuing deployments of surface combatants and the transparency of CENTCOM and Fifth Fleet communications will remain important indicators of Washington’s commitment to maritime security in and around the Red Sea and eastern Mediterranean.