USS Michael Murphy
US Navy Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, deployed for Hormuz mine clearance alongside DDG-121.
Last refreshed: 12 April 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
How does US Navy mine clearance work in a strait actively contested by Iran?
Latest on USS Michael Murphy
- What ship is USS Michael Murphy?
- DDG-112, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer named after Medal of Honor recipient Lt Michael Murphy. Commissioned 2012.Source: US Navy ship records
Background
USS Michael Murphy (DDG-112) transited the Strait of Hormuz on 11 April 2026 alongside USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. as part of a US Navy mine clearance operation declared by CENTCOM. The IRGC disputed that either vessel entered the strait and issued a warning against military transits.
DDG-112 is an Arleigh Burke-class Flight IIA destroyer commissioned in 2012. It is named after Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy, a Navy SEAL who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in Afghanistan in 2005. Like all destroyers of its class, it carries Aegis radar, Tomahawk missiles, and anti-submarine warfare equipment.
Murphy and Petersen operating together underlines that the US is conducting mine clearance as a paired-ship operation, likely for mutual protection in a contested strait. The dual CENTCOM/IRGC accounts of the transit illustrate how Hormuz has become a theatre of competing narratives, with both sides using the information space to signal deterrence postures to shipping markets.
