POTD, short for Photo Of The Day, is TFB’s recurring articles where we do our best to find the best pictures out there. Today we’re looking at a great picture as the U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer USS Gridley (DDG 101) fires its Mark 45 5-inch gun during a live-fire exercise.

You can see the 5.0 inch (127.0 mm) projectile as it just left the barrel. It looks small, but if you would get hit by it you would probably argue.

Notice the US stars on the outside of barrel as well. In the back, you can see the Norwegian Fjords, and some snow-covered mountains.

USS Gridley is underway on a scheduled deployment as the flagship of Standing NATO Maritime Group One to conduct maritime operations and provide a continuous maritime capability for NATO in the Northern Atlantic.

For more information on the 5″/54 caliber Mark 45 gun please check here.

The photo was taken by U.S. Navy Master-At-Arms 1st Class Joseph Broyles.

Here’s a similar picture from a previous POTD:

POTD: Destroyer Squadron 15 Fires a Mark 45 5-inch Gun