Ordered from Todd Pacific Shipyards, Seattle, Washington, on 28 February 1977, as part of the FY77 program, Antrim was laid down on 21 June 1978, launched on 27 March 1979, and commissioned on 26 September 1981.

Antrim conducted independent ship's exercises out of Mayport, on an intermittent daily basis until 20 November, when she set sail for Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

After a port visit to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, she tested and calibrated her sound equipment in the Bahamas, before returning to Mayport, on 20 December, to commence holiday stand down.

[4] The holiday leave and upkeep period ended on 11 January 1982, with her return to sea to conduct combat systems qualifications and trials.

Antrim stayed in port for almost a month, putting to sea again on 8 October, to carry out post-repair refresher training in the vicinity of Guantanamo Bay.

The guided-missile frigate completed that mission at the beginning of November, made a brief call at Key West, Florida, and then executed advanced ASW drills in the Bahamas.

On 10 February, while she was engaged in those evolutions, a target drone skipped off the surface and struck Antrim causing a fire in the wardroom and in her electronics spaces.

The warship completed her weapons training and testing during March, and spent most of April, preparing to deploy to the Mediterranean Sea and the Middle East.

She carried out turnover formalities with her relief at Djibouti, on 30 October, transited the Suez Canal, on 4 November, and laid in a course for Rota, Spain.

On 28 April, Antrim headed north for port visits at Newport, Rhode Island, and Portsmouth, followed by plane guard duty for Dwight D.

Back in Mayport, on 26 October, Antrim executed training missions in the local operating area until early in December, when she began preparations for overseas movement.

[4] Holiday routine interrupted those preparations, late in December, but the pace quickened in January 1985, as her February departure date drew near.

The warship transited of the Mediterranean, stopping only at Palma de Mallorca and Augusta Bay, Sicily, before negotiating the Suez Canal, on 27 February.

Steaming then through the Red Sea and around the Arabian Peninsula, Antrim passed through the Strait of Hormuz on 9 March, and entered the Persian Gulf.

While cruising on radar picket station in the Persian Gulf, Antrim received a distress call from the Liberian-flag motor vessel, MV Caribbean Breeze, that had suffered an Iranian missile attack to her bridge.

Back on station in the Persian Gulf, at the end of April, Antrim responded to another call for help on 2 May, after the Iranians attacked another motor vessel, MV Nordic Trader, with missiles.