Intense naval deployment in the Rio de la Plata for the G20 Summit in Buenos Aires

In addition to the intense security operations on land and the provisions for an extensive control of the airspace, further deployment of security and military forces in the Río de la Plata river will provide protection during the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, which will bring together the leaders of the 19 top world economies and of the European block starting on Friday.

So far at least two warships have been detected operating in the region, mainly affected to surveillance duties and sea and air support. These are the argentine destroyer ARA La Argentina, and the USS Ramage, belonging to the United States Navy.

As Infobae anticipated, despite speculation about the possible arrival of a US aircraft carrier, Washington finally sent an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer to "assist in air and maritime monitoring" at the request of the Argentine government, which will work in coordination with the aerial surveillance center assembled by Argentina in the city of Merlo.

The USS Ramage was sighted on Tuesday at the mouth of the Río de la Plata, approximately 100 kilometers from San Clemente del Tuyú, in Argentina, and 100 kilometers away from Punta del Este, in Uruguay, by the Marine Traffic, a site specialized in ship tracking. At the time it was accompanied by a small Uruguayan Navy vessel and a Panamanian tanker, and its last reported location in mid-November had been around the city of Recife, in Brazil.

On the other hand, the ARA La Argentina was detected that same day by MarineTraffic, and also by Vessel Finder, about 15 kilometers away from the city of La Plata. The vessel will also be assisted by the auxiliary ship ARA Ciudad de Rosario.

Both the USS Ramage and the ARA La Argentina are multipurpose destroyers with air monitoring capabilities and surface-to-air missile systems.

The USS Ramage (code DDG-61), of the Arleigh Burke-class, was built at the Ingalls shipyard in Mississippi and entered service in 1995. It displaces about 9,000 tons at full load and has a crew of almost 300 sailors and officers, plus the ability to carry two MH-60 Black Hawk helicopters.

Like others of its kind, it has state-of-the-art radar systems, sensors and equipment for electronic warfare. In addition, it is armed with a variety of missiles, like the anti-aircraft RIM-67, the anti-ship Harpoon and Tomahawk cruise missiles, in addition to a conventional 127 mm cannon and numerous other lighter antiaircraft weapons.

The USS Ramage has provided escort for the aircraft carrier USS George Washington during operation "Enduring Freedom", part of the "War on Terrorism", and has also been deployed in the Mediterranean and off the coast of Syria.

The ARA La Argentina (code D-11), built at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg, Germany, entered service in 1983 and is part of the Argentine Navy destroyer division. It is a MEKO-360H2 vessel of the Almirante Brown-class, has a displacement of 3,600 tons with a crew of about 200 sailors and officers, and capacity for two Airbus Fennec or Aérospatiale Alouette III helicopters.

It is armed with Selenia Aspide missiles for anti-aircraft fire and with Exocet MM-40 for combat against other vessels, directed by a battery of sensors and radars. It also fields four double 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft cannons and a 127mm multipurpose cannon at the bow.

Recently the ARA La Argentina provided support and transported materials to and from the auxiliary ship "Seabed Constructor", which in mid-November found, after a year of extensive searching, the wreckage of the missing submarine ARA San Juan.

For Infobae's complete coverage of the Group of 20 summit in Argentina: www.infobae.com/america/g20-summit-2018/

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