Arleigh Burke-class (DDG-51)
American guided-missile destroyer, 9,900 tons displacement, entered service in 1991. Key figures: displacement 9,900 tons, length 155 m, top speed 31 knots, crew 323, unit cost $2.2B, built 78. In service with 1 navy — United States (75).
| Subtype | Guided-missile destroyer |
| Displacement | 9900 tons |
| Crew | 323 members |
| Width | 20.0 m (65.6 ft) |
| Length | 155.3 m (509.5 ft) |
| 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) |
| Shaft power | 105,000 hp |
| Range | 4,400 nm at 20 knots |
| Maximum speed | 31 knots |
- 1 × 127 mm/54 Mk 45 Mod 1/2 or 1 × 127 mm/62 Mk 45 Mod 4 lightweight gun
- 1 or 2 × 20 mm Phalanx CIWS
- 1 × SeaRAM (on select ships)
- 2 × 25 mm M242 Bushmaster equipped Mk 38 machine gun systems
- 4 × 12.7 mm M2 Browning heavy machine guns
- 2 × Mk 141 Harpoon anti-ship missile launchers (Flights I & II only)
- 4 × Naval Strike Missile (DDG-62)
- 90 or 96 cell Mk 41 vertical launching system (BGM-109 Tomahawk, RIM-161 SM-3, RIM-174 SM-6, RIM-156 SM-2ER Blk. IV, RIM-66 SM-2MR, RIM-162 ESSM, RUM-139 vertical launch ASROC)
- 2 × Mark 32 triple torpedo tubes (Mark 46, Mark 50, or Mark 54 lightweight torpedoes)
- 1 × Optical Dazzling Interdictor, Navy (on select ships)
- 1 × HELIOS laser (DDG-88)
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.
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- AUG 82026 Updated Thrust updated
- APR 72026 Updated Description updated in a site-wide editorial pass
- JAN 242026 Updated Max speed and range at cruise speed updated
- JAN 182026 Updated Type, manufacturer and 11 more fields updated