Navy
GalleryParade of ships launches Navy’s 250th birthday celebration in Philadelphia
Stars and Stripes
October 10, 2025
The San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship USS Arlington, Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Lassen, and Freedom-variant littoral combat ships USS Billings and USS Cooperstown transit the Delaware River on Oct. 9, 2025, during a parade of ships in celebration of the Navy’s 250th birthday in Philadelphia. (Chad Butler/U.S. Navy)
A parade of ships cruised up and down the Delaware River as the Navy and Marine Corps returned to Philadelphia, the birthplace of the sea services, to celebrate 250 years of heritage.
Among the ships that took part were the USS Lassen, the USS Billings and the USS Cooperstown. A military flyover accompanied the flotilla.
The parade launched a weeklong celebration in Philadelphia, despite an ongoing government shutdown.
Spectators watch as San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock USS Arlington transits the Delaware River on Oct. 9, 2025, in Philadelphia. (Miguel Santiago/U.S. Navy)
The San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship USS Arlington and Freedom-variant littoral combat ship USS Billings transit the Delaware River on Oct. 9, 2025, in Philadelphia. (Chad M. Butler/U.S. Navy)
The San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship USS Arlington transits the Delaware River on Oct. 9, 2025, in Philadelphia. (Chad M. Butler/U.S. Navy)
Spectators watch as the Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship USS Arlington sails past on Oct. 9, 2025, in Philadelphia. (Sylvie Carafiol/U.S. Navy)
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The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Lassen sails past on Oct. 9, 2025, in Philadelphia. (Sylvie Carafiol/U.S. Navy)
A U.S. Marine Corps MV-22B Osprey aircraft, assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 261, participates in a flyover demonstration along the Delaware River in celebration on Oct. 9, 2025, in Philadelphia. (Chad M. Butler/U.S. Navy)
Spectators watch as guided-missile destroyer USS Lassen transits the Delaware River on Oct. 9, 2025, in Philadelphia. (Miguel Santiago/U.S. Navy)