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EspañolARLEIGH BURKE CLASS DESTROYER
| ''Arleigh Burke'' class destroyer | |
|---|---|
 USS Arleigh Burke (DDG-51) | |
| Class Overview | |
| Class Type | Guided missile destroyer |
| Class Name | In honor of Admiral Arleigh “31 knot” Burke |
| Preceded By | ''Spruance''-class destroyer |
| Succeeded By | ''Zumwalt''-class guided missile destroyer |
| General characteristics | |
| Cost: | ~US$800 million |
| Displacement: | 8315 tons full load (Flight I) 8400 tons full load (Flight II) 9200 tons full load (Flight IIA) |
| Length: | 505 ft (154 m) (Flights I and II) 509 ft (155 m) (Flight IIA) |
| Beam: | 59 ft (18 m) |
| Draft: | 30.5 ft (9.3 m) |
| Propulsion: | 4 General Electric LM2500-30 gas turbines; two shafts, 100,000 total shaft horsepower (75 MW) |
| Speed: | 30+ knots (56+ km/h) |
| Range: | 4,400 nautical miles at 20 knots (8,100 km at 37 km/h) |
| Complement: | 23 officers, 300 enlisted |
| Armament: | • 90 cells Mk 41 vertical launch systems • BGM-109 Tomahawk • RGM-84 Harpoon SSM (not in Flight IIa units) • SM-2 Standard SAM (has an ASuW mode) • RIM-162 ESSM SAM (DDG-79 onward) • RUM-139 Vertical Launch ASROC • one 5 inch (127 mm/54) Mk-45 (lightweight gun) (DDG-51 through -80) • one 5 inch (127 mm/62) Mk-45 mod 4 (lightweight gun) (DDG-81 on) • two 20 mm Phalanx CIWS (DDG-51 through -83, several later units) • two Mark 32 triple torpedo tubes (six Mk-46 or Mk-50 torpedoes, Mk-54 in the near future) |
| Aircraft: | • None, but LAMPS III electronics installed on landing deck for coordinated DDG-51/helo ASW operations (Flights I and II) • two SH-60 Seahawk LAMPS III helos (Flight IIA) |
The '''Arleigh Burke'' class' of guided missile destroyers, one of the destroyer classes of the United States Navy, is built around the Aegis combat system and the SPY-1D multi-function phased array radar. The first ship was commissioned on 4 July 1991. After the decommissioning of the last ''Spruance''-class destroyer, USS ''Cushing'', on September 21, 2005, the ''Arleigh Burke'' class ships became the U.S. Navy's only active destroyers.
The class is named for Admiral Arleigh "31-Knot" Burke, the most famous destroyer officer of World War II. Admiral Burke was alive when the class leader was commissioned, and his words to the plankowners echo in the class' distinguished service to date: "This ship is built to fight; you had better know how."
The Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force operates four modified Flight I vessels as the ''Kongo'' class. Three more will be commissioned by 2010, these will be upgraded to Flight IIA standard.
| Contents |
| Characteristics |
| Development |
| Contractors |
| Ships |
| See also |
| References |
| Further reading |
| External links |
Characteristics
The ''Arleigh Burke'' class are among the largest and most powerful destroyers ever built, both larger and more heavily armed than many previous cruisers. (The larger ''Ticonderoga'' class were constructed on Spruance Class hullforms, but are designated as cruisers.) The ''Arleigh Burke'' class breaks with previous American construction practices, by being built entirely of steel, rather than having a steel hull and aluminum superstructure. (An aluminum mast is used to reduce topweight). A 1975 fire aboard USS ''Belknap'' that gutted her aluminum superstructure and observation of battle damage to British ships during the Falklands War prompted the decision to employ a steel superstructure.
The ''Arleigh Burke'' class were the first U.S. warships designed with an air-filtration system against nuclear, biological and chemical warfare.
Development
In 1980 the United States Navy initiated design studies with seven contractors. By 1983 the number of competitors had been reduced to three; Bath Iron Works, Todd Shipyards and Ingalls Shipbuilding.[1] On April 3 1985 Bath Iron Works received a US$321.9 million contract to build the first of class, USS ''Arleigh Burke''.[2] The total cost of the first ship was put at US$1.1 billion, the other US$778 million being for the ship's weapons systems.
The "Flight IIA ''Arleigh Burke''" ships have several new features, which has led some to suggest that they be renamed the "''Oscar Austin''" class after the first ship, ''Oscar Austin'' (DDG-79). Among the changes are the addition of two hangars for ASW helicopters, and a new, longer 5-inch/62-caliber naval gun (fitted on ''Winston S. Churchill'' (DDG-81) and later ships). Later Flight IIA ships sport a modified funnel design that buries the funnels within the superstructure as a signature-reduction measure.
The United States Navy has begun a modernization program for the ''Arleigh Burke'' class aimed at improving the gun systems on the ships in an effort to address congressional concerns over the loss of the U.S. ''Iowa''-class battleships. Among other things this modernization includes is the extension of the range of the 5in guns on the Flight I ''Arleigh Burke''-class destroyers (USS ''Arleigh Burke'' to USS ''Ross'') with extended range guided munitions (ERGMs) that would enable the ships to fire projectiles about 40 nautical miles inland.[3][4][5]
Profile of Flight IIA Arleigh Burke-class destroyer.
One ''Arleigh Burke'' class ship has been damaged by enemy action: ''Cole'' was damaged and almost sunk by an improvised explosive device delivered by suicide bombers on a boat in October 2000 in Aden, Yemen (see USS ''Cole'' bombing). The ship was repaired and returned to action in 2001.
Contractors
★ Builders: General Dynamics, Bath Iron Works Division and Northrop Grumman Ship Systems
★ SPY-1 Radar and Combat System Integrator: Lockheed Martin
Ships
DDG-112 will be the last of the class and is expected to be delivered in 2010.
See also
★ ''Kongō'' class destroyer
★ ''Atago'' class destroyer
★ ''King Sejong the Great'' class destroyer
References
1. The dust has settled on the Air Force's Great Engine Wayne Biddle
2. Maine shipbuidler gets Navy contract for a new destroyer
3. Taken from the National Defense Authorization Act of 2007, pages 67-68
4. Taken from the National Defense Authorization Act of 2007, page 193
5. Federation of American Scientists report on the MK 45 5-inch gun and ammunition payload for the US ''Arleigh Burke''-class destroyers
Further reading
★ The Yard: Building a Destroyer at the Bath Iron Works, Sanders, Michael S., , , HarperCollins, 1999, ISBN 0-06-019246-1 (Describes the construction of ''Donald Cook'' (DDG-75) at Bath Iron Works.)
External links
★ ''Arleigh Burke''-class destroyers at Destroyer History Foundation
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