Arleigh Burke class destroyer
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USS Arleigh Burke (DDG-51) |
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Arleigh Burke class destroyer |
| Operators: | |
| Preceded by: | Kidd-class guided missile destroyer |
| Succeeded by: | Zumwalt-class guided missile destroyer (planned) |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | guided missile destroyer |
| Displacement: | 8,315 tons full load (Flight I) 8,400 tons full load (Flight II) 9,200 tons full load (Flight IIA) |
| Length: | 505 feet (154 m) (Flights I and II) 509 feet (155 m) (Flight IIA) |
| Beam: | 59 feet (18 m) |
| Draft: | 30.5 feet (9.3 m) |
| Propulsion: | 4 General Electric LM2500-30 gas turbines; two shafts, 108,000 total shaft horsepower (4 x 27,000 horsepower) (75 MW) |
| Speed: | 30+ knots (56+ km/h) |
| Range: | 4,400 nautical miles (8,100 km) at 20 knots (37 km/h) |
| Boats and landing craft carried: |
2 Rigid hull inflatable boats |
| 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) •SM-3 Standard Ballistic missile defense missile for AEGIS BMD (DDG-61, some others) • 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 carried: | • 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 American 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.
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[edit] 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.[1]
[edit] 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.[2]
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 Mark 45 Mod 4 5-inch/62-caliber naval gun (fitted on Winston S. Churchill (DDG-81) and later ships). Later Flight IIA ships starting with USS Mustin have a modified funnel design that buries the funnels within the superstructure as a signature-reduction measure. TACTAS Towed array sonar was omitted from flight IIA ships and they also lack Harpoon launchers. Ships from DDG-68 to DDG-84 have AN/SLQ-32 antennas that resemble V3 configuration similar to those deployed on Aegis cruisers, while the remainder appear to have V5 variants externally resembling ones deployed on Oliver Hazard Perry frigates. V3 has an active electronic countermeasures component while V5 is passive only. In 2007, images of some flight IIA units, (Preble[3], Mustin[4]), show an aft CIWS had been added, though they were constructed without a CIWS.
USS Pinckney, USS Momsen, USS Chung-Hoon, USS Nitze, USS James E. Williams and USS Bainbridge[5] have superstructure differences to accommodate the Remote Mine-hunting System (RMS). MK 32 torpedo tubes were moved to the missile deck from amidships as well.
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.[6][7][8]
[edit] Modernization
The US Navy recently launched a modernization program that is designed to provide a comprehensive mid-life upgrade to ensure that the class remains effective. Reduced manning, increased mission effectiveness, and a reduced total cost of ownership are the goals of the modernization program. Modernization technologies will be integrated during new construction of DDG 111 and 112, then retrofitted into DDG Flight I and II ships during in service overhaul periods.[9]
[edit] Operational History
One Arleigh Burke class ship has been damaged by enemy action: Cole was damaged 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.
[edit] Contractors
- Builders: 33 units constructed by General Dynamics, Bath Iron Works Division and 29 by Northrop Grumman Ship Systems, Ingalls Shipbuilding
- AN/SPY-1 Radar and Combat System Integrator: Lockheed Martin
[edit] Ships
DDG-112 will be the last of the class and is expected to be delivered in 2010.
[edit] Gallery
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Starboard side of USS Momsen (DDG-92), note torpedo tubes mounted on missile deck vs earlier mounted amidships. Also note superstructure changes to accommodate a Remote Minehunting System (RMS) holding bay.[1] |
[edit] See also
- Kongō class destroyer
- Atago class destroyer
- King Sejong the Great class destroyer
- Álvaro de Bazán class frigate
[edit] References
- ^ a b Biddle, Wayne. "The dust has settled on the Air Force's Great Engine", The New York Times, The New York Times Company, 1984-02-28. Retrieved on 2007-07-19.
- ^ a b "Maine shipbuidler gets Navy contract for a new destroyer", The New York Times, The New York Times Company, 1985-04-03. Retrieved on 2007-07-19.
- ^ http://www.preble.navy.mil/
- ^ 070319-N-2638R-002 DN-SD-07-24693
- ^ DN-SD-07-24674 (up to DDG-96)
- ^ Taken from the National Defense Authorization Act of 2007, pages 67-68
- ^ Taken from the National Defense Authorization Act of 2007, page 193
- ^ Federation of American Scientists report on the MK 45 5-inch gun and ammunition payload for the US Arleigh Burke-class destroyers
- ^ The US Navy - Fact File
- ^ Some units had a CIWS added aft, as noted above (DDG-88 and DDG-89 are two examples with an aft Phalanx CIWS added after commissioning)
[edit] Further reading
- Sanders, Michael S. (1999). The Yard: Building a Destroyer at the Bath Iron Works. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-019246-1. (Describes the construction of Donald Cook (DDG-75) at Bath Iron Works.)
[edit] External links
- Arleigh Burke-class destroyers at Destroyer History Foundation
- Arleigh Burke unit list
- Project information on the Arleigh Burke Class (Aegis)
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