Arleigh Burke-class (DDG-51)
Summary
| Origin country | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Category | Destroyer |
| Subtype | Guided-missile destroyer |
| Manufacturer | Ingalls Shipbuilding |
| Year commissioned | 1991 |
| Approx. unit cost | $2200 million |
| Units |
DDG-100 USS Kidd DDG-101 USS Gridley DDG-102 USS Sampson DDG-103 USS Truxtun DDG-104 USS Sterett DDG-105 USS Dewey DDG-106 USS Stockdale DDG-107 USS Gravely DDG-108 USS Wayne E. Meyer DDG-109 USS Jason Dunham DDG-110 USS William P. Lawrence DDG-111 USS Spruance DDG-112 USS Michael Murphy DDG-113 USS John Finn DDG-114 USS Ralph Johnson DDG-115 USS Rafael Peralta DDG-116 USS Thomas Hudner DDG-117 USS Paul Ignatius DDG-118 USS Daniel Inouye DDG-119 USS Delbert D. Black DDG-120 USS Carl M. Levin DDG-121 USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. DDG-122 USS John Basilone DDG-123 USS Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee DDG-125 USS Jack H. Lucas DDG-51 USS Arleigh Burke DDG-52 USS Barry DDG-53 USS John Paul Jones DDG-54 USS Curtis Wilbur DDG-55 USS Stout DDG-56 USS John S. McCain DDG-57 USS Mitscher DDG-58 USS Laboon DDG-59 USS Russell DDG-60 USS Paul Hamilton DDG-61 USS Ramage DDG-62 USS Fitzgerald DDG-63 USS Stethem DDG-64 USS Carney DDG-65 USS Benfold DDG-66 USS Gonzalez DDG-67 USS Cole DDG-68 USS The Sullivans DDG-69 USS Milius DDG-70 USS Hopper DDG-71 USS Ross DDG-72 USS Mahan DDG-73 USS Decatur DDG-74 USS McFaul DDG-75 USS Donald Cook DDG-76 USS Higgins DDG-77 USS O'Kane DDG-78 USS Porter DDG-79 USS Oscar Austin DDG-80 USS Roosevelt DDG-81 USS Winston S. Churchill DDG-82 USS Lassen DDG-83 USS Howard DDG-84 USS Bulkeley DDG-85 USS McCampbell DDG-86 USS Shoup DDG-87 USS Mason DDG-88 USS Preble DDG-89 USS Mustin DDG-90 USS Chafee DDG-91 USS Pinckney DDG-92 USS Momsen DDG-93 USS Chung-Hoon DDG-94 USS Nitze DDG-95 USS James E. Williams DDG-96 USS Bainbridge DDG-97 USS Halsey DDG-98 USS Forrest Sherman DDG-99 USS Farragut |
Operators
Description
The Arleigh Burke class was developed in the 1980s to replace the Charles F. Adams and Farragut classes as part of a modernization strategy to field Aegis-equipped vessels. Bath Iron Works and Ingalls Shipbuilding began construction in 1988, and the lead ship entered service in 1991. Following the curtailment of the Zumwalt class, production of the Arleigh Burke class resumed in 2009. It represents the longest production run of any U.S. Navy surface combatant.
The class is built around the Aegis Combat System, utilizing either passive or active electronically scanned array radars for target tracking and fire control. The design features a large waterplane area hull with a flaring bow to improve seakeeping in heavy seas. To enhance survivability, the Navy utilized all-steel construction with Kevlar splinter protection for vital spaces, moving away from the aluminum superstructures used in previous classes. Stealth techniques, including angled surfaces and a raked tripod mast, are used to reduce radar detection. These vessels were the first U.S. warships designed with air-filtration systems for protection against nuclear, biological, and chemical warfare. Multi-mission capabilities include anti-aircraft, anti-submarine, anti-surface, and land-attack warfare. Flight IIA and Flight III variants include hangars for helicopter operations, whereas earlier flights featured only a flight deck.
Operational history began with Tomahawk cruise missile strikes during operations in Iraq in 1996, 1998, and 2003. Ships of the class are forward-deployed to Rota, Spain, to provide ballistic missile defense for NATO. In 2000, USS Cole sustained hull damage from a suicide boat attack in Aden, Yemen. The class has been involved in several major accidents, notably collisions involving USS Fitzgerald and USS John S. McCain in 2017. Between 2016 and 2024, destroyers in the Red Sea engaged anti-ship missiles and drones using a combination of surface-to-air missiles and close-in weapon systems. In April 2024, vessels of the class performed the first combat interceptions of ballistic missiles using the SM-3 interceptor. Navies in Japan and South Korea also operate derivative classes based on the Arleigh Burke design.
Technical specifications
| Displacement | 9900 tons |
| Range | 4400 km at 20 knots |
| Crew | 323 members |
| Width | 20.0 m (65.6 ft) |
| Length | 155.3 m (509.5 ft) |
| Air Park |
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| Propulsion | 4 × General Electric LM2500 gas turbines each generating 26,250 bhp (19,570 kW); coupled to two shafts, each driving a five-bladed reversible controllable-pitch propeller; Total output: 105,000 bhp (78,000 kW) |
| Thrust | 7500 hp |
| Armament |
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| Maximum speed | 31 knots |
Further Reading
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