Arleigh Burke-class destroyer
The Arleigh Burke class of guided-missile destroyers (DDGs) is a United States Navy class of destroyer centered around the Aegis Combat System and the SPY-1D multi-function passive electronically scanned array radar. The class is named for Admiral Arleigh Burke, an American destroyer officer in World War II and later Chief of Naval Operations. With an overall length of 505 to 509.5 feet (153.9 to 155.3 m), displacement ranging from 8,300 to 9,700 tons, and weaponry including over 90 missiles, the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are larger and more heavily armed than many previous classes of guided-missile cruisers.
These warships are multi-mission destroyers able to conduct anti-aircraft warfare with Aegis and surface-to-air missiles; tactical land strikes with Tomahawk missiles; anti-submarine warfare (ASW) with towed array sonar, anti-submarine rockets, and ASW helicopters; and anti-surface warfare (ASuW) with ship-to-ship missiles and guns. With upgrades to their AN/SPY-1 radar systems and their associated missile payloads as part of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System, as well as the introduction of the AN/SPY-6 radar system, the class has also evolved capability as mobile anti-ballistic missile and anti-satellite platforms.
The lead ship of the class, USS Arleigh Burke, was commissioned during Admiral Burke's lifetime on 4 July 1991. With the decommissioning of the last Spruance-class destroyer, USS Cushing, on 21 September 2005, the Arleigh Burke-class ships became the U.S. Navy's only active destroyers until the Zumwalt class became active in 2016. The Arleigh Burke class has the longest production run of any U.S. Navy surface combatant. As of October 2023, all seventy-three built are active, with nineteen more planned to enter service.
Development[edit]
Origins and Flight I[edit]
The Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) from 1970 to 1974, Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, sought to improve the U.S. Navy through modernization at minimal cost. Zumwalt's approach to the fleet was a "high-low mix"—a few high-end, high-cost warships supplemented by numerous low-end, low-cost warships. The introduction of the Aegis-equipped Ticonderoga-class cruiser in the early 1980s filled the high end. The Navy started work to develop a lower-cost Aegis-equipped vessel to fill the low end and replace the aging Charles F. Adams destroyers.[76][77][78]
In 1980, the U.S. Navy initiated design studies with seven contractors. By 1983, the number of competitors had been reduced to three: Bath Iron Works, Ingalls Shipbuilding, and Todd Shipyards.[30] On 3 April 1985, Bath Iron Works received a US$321.9 million contract to build the first of the class, USS Arleigh Burke.[79] Gibbs & Cox was awarded the contract to be the lead ship design agent.[80] The Navy contracted Ingalls Shipbuilding to build the second ship.[81]
Political restraints led to design restrictions, including the absence of helicopter hangars, a displacement limit of 8,300 tons, and a 50-foot shorter hull than the Ticonderoga's. The designers were forced to make compromises, such as a wide flaring bow. To compensate for the limited length, the originally-planned 80,000 shaft horsepower (shp) LM2500 gas turbines were upgraded to 100,000 shp.[76] No main gun was included in the original design, later amended to include an OTO Melara 76 mm, before finally selecting the 5-inch/54-caliber Mark 45.[9][78] Despite their constraints, the designers benefitted from insight gained from previous classes; for example, they chose an all-steel superstructure to improve survivability.[23]
The total cost of the first ship was $1.1 billion, the other $778 million being for the ship's weapons systems.[79] USS Arleigh Burke was laid down by the Bath Iron Works at Bath, Maine, on 6 December 1988, and launched on 16 September 1989 by Mrs. Arleigh Burke. The Admiral himself was present at her commissioning ceremony on 4 July 1991, held on the waterfront in downtown Norfolk, Virginia.[76] Orders for Flight I ships continued through 1995.
Flight II[edit]
The Flight II iteration of the class was introduced in FY1992.[2] The incorporation of the AN/SRS-1A(V) Combat Direction Finding enhanced detection of signals.[82] The TADIX-B, JTIDS Command and Control Processor, and Link 16 improved communication with other assets.[83] The SLQ-32 EW suite was upgraded to (V)3, and the SPS-67(V)3 surface search radar was upgraded to (V)5.[84] Flight II also gained the capability to launch and control the SM-2ER Block IV.[85] An expansion of fuel capacity slightly increased the displacement.[20]
In popular culture[edit]
The 2009 film Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen features USS Preble.
The 2012 film Battleship features USS John Paul Jones, USS Benfold, and USS Sampson.[198]
The 2013 film Captain Phillips features USS Truxtun, which stood in for the ship from the true event, USS Bainbridge.[199]
The 2014 television series The Last Ship, loosely based on the 1988 novel of the same name, is set on the fictional USS Nathan James.[200] Its hull designation in the book is DDG 80, but it was changed to DDG 151 for the television series to avoid confusion with the real-life USS Roosevelt, which did not exist when the book was written. USS Halsey (DDG-97), a Flight IIA Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, stood in for Nathan James during filming.[201]
The 2015 film San Andreas features an unidentified Arleigh Burke-class destroyer during a scene following a tsunami. A second and third unidentified destroyer also appear near the end of the film in the San Francisco Bay.