The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers or DDG 51-class were developed for the US Navy to provide multi-mission offensive and defensive capabilities.
USS Arleigh Burke, the first warship in the class, was commissioned by the US Navy in 1991.
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The contracts for the first 62 destroyers were built by Northrop Grumman’s subsidiary Northrop Grumman Ship Systems (formerly Litton Ingalls Shipbuilding), which built 28 ships. The remaining 34 ships were built by General Dynamics’ subsidiary Bath Iron Works (BIW).
In August 2023, HII Ingalls Shipbuilding (formerly part of Northrop Grumman) and BIW were awarded contracts to construct ten Arleigh Burke-class Flight III guided-missile destroyers (DDG-51) under a five-year agreement. The contract is valued at approximately $14.5bn.
Ingalls Shipbuilding will construct seven of the nine destroyers from 2023 to 2027 while BIW will build the remaining three.
In August 2024, the keel for the DDG 130 was laid at the BIW shipyard.
Arleigh Burke-class design and features
The Arleigh Burke-class destroyers have a length of 505ft, a beam of 66ft, a draft of 36ft, and a height of 153ft. The vessels have a displacement of 8,558t.
Except for the two aluminium funnels, the entire ship is made from steel, with vital areas protected by two layers of steel and 70t of Kevlar armour.
The destroyer has a platform for rearming and refuelling a LAMPS III SH-60B/F helicopter with ASW capabilities, but the ship cannot accommodate a helicopter of its own without hangars. This is the first US Navy class to be fitted out with anti-NBC warfare protection.
Details of Arleigh Burke-class Flight I and IIA ships
The first 21 destroyers (DDG51-DDG71) are categorised as Flight I, the next seven (DDG72-DDG78) as Flight II, and ships starting with USS Jack H Lucas (DDG 125) are classified as Flight III.
The revised Flight IIA ships entered production in late 1997, and 39 vessels were commissioned and are in active service.
Subsequently contracted Arleigh Burke-class vessels in the Flight IIA configuration included USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116), USS Paul Ignatius (DDG 117), USS Daniel Inouye (DDG 118), USS Delbert D Black (DDG 119), USS Carl M Levin (DDG 120), USS Frank E Petersen Jr (DDG 121), USS John Basilone (DDG 122), USS Lenah H Sutcliffe Higbee (DDG 123), and USS Harvey C Barnum Jr (DDG 124).
The US Navy awarded a contract to General Dynamics for the construction of USS Harvey C Barnum Jr (DDG 124), the last ship in the Flight IIA configuration, in March 2016. The first steel for DDG 124 was cut in May 2018, and keel-laying took place in April 2021.
USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112), commissioned in October 2012, was to be the last of the 62 Arleigh Burke destroyers.
In April 2018, the US Navy unveiled plans to modernise the existing destroyers to extend their service by an additional ten years, increasing the projected ship service life from 35 or 40 years to 45 years.
Flight III Arleigh Burke ships
Improvements over previous flights include hangars for two SH-60B/F LAMPS helicopters, new combat system software, an enlarged flight deck, the Evolved SeaSparrow missile, the Kingfisher mine detection sonar, the Kollmorgen optronic sight, and an upgraded Aegis radar system.
Timken secured a contract from the US Department of Defense to supply Philadelphia Gear main reduction gears (MRGs) for the next generation of Arleigh Burke DDG 51 class ships in February 2016.
With a combined value of $9.29bn, the US Navy awarded two contracts to HII and BIW for the construction of ten Flight III DDG 51 destroyers in September 2018. HII built six destroyers while BIW constructed the remaining four. The ships were constructed between 2018 and 2022.
In December 2018, the US Navy awarded a contract modification to BIW to construct an additional Arleigh Burke-class destroyer.
In November 2019, HII laid and authenticated the keel of USS Jack H Lucas (DDG 125), the first Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyer.
HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding delivered the USS Jack H Lucas (DDG-125) vessel to the US Navy in June 2023 and was commissioned in October same year.
Construction of USS Louis H Wilson Jr (DDG-126) started at the BIW shipyard in March 2020.
Other Flight III Arleigh Burke-class combat warships include USS Gallagher (DDG 127), USS Ted Stevens (DDG 128), USS Jeremiah Denton (DDG 129), USS William Charette (DDG 130), USS George M Neal (DDG 131), USS Quentin Walsh (DDG 132), USS Sam Nunn (DDG 133), USS PCU John E KIlmer (DDG 134), USS Thad Cochran (DDG 135), USS Richard G Lugar (DDG 136), USS John F. Lehman (DDG 137), and USS J William Middendorf (DDG 138).
In May 2024, the US Navy revealed the names of its newest Arleigh Burke-class destroyers – USS Richard J Danzig (DDG-143) and USS Michael G Mullen (DDG-144).
Details of the Aegis combat system
Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are equipped with the Aegis combat system, which integrates the ship’s sensors and weapon systems to engage anti-ship missile threats.
The Aegis system features a federated architecture with four subsystems, including an AN/SPY-1 multifunction radar, a command and decision system (CDS), an Aegis display system (ADS), and the weapon control system (WCS).
The CDS receives data from ship and external sensors through satellite communications and provides command, control, and threat assessment. The WCS receives engagement instruction from the CDS, selects weapons, and interfaces with the weapon fire control systems.
The Aegis upgrade, Baseline 7.1, was certified by the USN in September 2005 on board the USS Pinkney (DDG 91). The upgrade includes a new radar, AN/SPY-1D (V), which features enhanced electronic countermeasures and improved capability in littoral environments.
USS John Finn (DDG 113) was the first new-build to be equipped with Baseline 9. The combat systems upgrade in 2015 involved the activation of the Aegis Baseline 9 in the Arleigh Burke, the lead ship in the class.
The Flight III configuration includes major enhancements to enable the ship to simultaneously perform both anti-air warfare and anti-ballistic missile operations.
The ships in the Flight III class feature the advanced AN/SPY-6(V) radar and Aegis Baseline 10 upgrade.
Raytheon won a $250m contract in December 2019 to build SPY-6 radar ship sets for Flight III destroyers.
Lockheed Martin developed the Aegis ballistic missile defence (BMD) capability for the Aegis combat system to engage ballistic missiles with the SM-3 missile. The Aegis BMD system was fitted onto 33 Arleigh Burke destroyers offering long-range surveillance, tracking, and engagement of short-range and medium-range ballistic missiles.
The system received US Navy certification for full deployment in September 2006. The work on 33 destroyers was completed by 2019.
Aegis BMD is the primary sea-based component of the US BMD system. The deployed destroyers are currently equipped with the 3.6.1 and 4.0.1 versions of the system. Future software upgrades include the transition of the system to the more advanced 5.0, 5.1, and 5.2 versions.
Performance and propulsion of the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers
The Arleigh Burke-class destroyers have a speed of more than 31 knots.
The destroyers are powered by four GE LM 2500 gas turbines, each rated at 33,600hp, with a power turbine speed of 3,600rpm, driving two shafts with controllable pitch propellers.
Countermeasures aboard Arleigh Burke-class destroyers
The ship’s electronic countermeasures/support measures system is the Raytheon AN/ LQ-32(V)3, which performs radar warning and jamming. The new SLQ-32(V)6 variant enhances the destroyers’ electronic warfare capabilities.
The US Navy is working with Northrop Grumman under the Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP) Block 3 to deliver electronic attack capability to the SLQ-32(V) system.
Northrop Grumman delivered the first SEWIP Block 3 system for installation on a DDG 51 destroyer in 2021.
Decoys include two Lockheed Martin Sippican SRBOC six-barrelled launchers for chaff and infrared flares, and the AN/SLQ-25A Nixie torpedo decoy system from Argon ST (formerly Sensytech) of Newington, Virginia.
Argon received contracts to upgrade the Nixie system to SLQ-25C in November 2006 and SLQ-25D in February 2008, featuring open architecture software and a new lightweight winch.
Arleigh Burke vessels, USN cruisers, and LPDs are fitted with the BAE Systems Australia mk53 Nulka active missile decoy system. Nulka is a hovering rocket system, which guides incoming missiles away from the ship.
Nulka was developed by the Australian Defence Science and Technology Organisation in Canberra and Lockheed Martin Sippican in Massachusetts, US. In November 2008, USS Higgins (DDG 76) became the 100th US Navy vessel to be fitted with Nulka.
Arleigh Burke-class sensors
The Aegis system includes an air search and fire control radar, the Lockheed Martin AN/SPY-ID 3D phased array radar, operating in the E/F band, and a surface search radar, the DRS Technologies AN/SPS-67(V)3 C-band (5.4-5.8GHz) radar. The system also features the Raytheon SPS-64(V)9 I-band navigation radar and three Raytheon AN/SPG-62, I/J-band radars for fire control.
The sonar suite is the Lockheed Martin SQQ-89(V)6, which includes the Edo Corporation AN/SQS-53C bow-mounted active search-and-attack sonar and the AN/SQR-19B passive towed array.
The suite was upgraded to the SQQ-89(V)15 on more than 100 Arleigh Burke (DDG 51) destroyers to allow the deployment of the Lockheed Martin AN / WLD-1 remote mine-hunting system.
The USS Momsen (DDG 92) was the first vessel to be fitted with the AN/WLD-1 RMS, which will feature on all subsequent vessels. The AN/WLD-1 includes a remote mine-hunting vehicle (RMV) that tows the AN/AQS-20A variable depth sonar (VDS).
In March 2022, Raytheon Missiles & Defense, a subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies, secured a contract worth $651m to supply AN/SPY-6(V) solid state, fixed-face, and rotating variants of radars for Arleigh Burke-class Flight III destroyers.
SPY-6 radar has been installed on USS Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125). It has also been delivered for USS Ted Stevens (DDG 128).
Arleigh Burke-class weapons
The ships are armed with 56 Raytheon Tomahawk cruise missiles, including a combination of land-attack (TLAM) missiles with a Tercom-aided navigation system, and anti-ship missiles with inertial guidance. The Standard SM-2MR block 4 surface-to-air missiles, which use command/inertial guidance, remain central to the Aegis system.
Both Tomahawk and standard missiles are fired from two Lockheed Martin mk41 vertical launch systems. The new missile features capabilities for mission planning on board the launch vessel, in-flight targeting, and loitering.
In December 2004, Raytheon began deliveries of the Standard MissileSM-3. Based on hit-to-kill technology, the SM-3 has a kinetic warhead and is designed for deployment against short-range to medium-range ballistic missiles. The SM-3 block 1B missile also incorporates a two-colour infrared seeker, as well as a throttling divert and attitude control system.
The SM-3 is upgraded to SM-3 Block IIA and SM-3 Block IIB.
There are eight Boeing Harpoon surface-to-surface missiles and Lockheed Martin ASROC vertical launch anti-submarine systems, armed with the mk50 or mk46 torpedo. ASROC is launched from the mk41 VLS.
Arleigh Burke vessels are fitted with the evolved Sea Sparrow missile (ESSM) developed by Raytheon. The ESSM is an advanced ship self-defence missile for use against anti-ship missiles.
The vessels feature one BAE Systems Land & Armaments (formerly United Defense) 127mm mk45 gun with the Kollmorgen mk46 mod 1 electro-optic sight, and two Raytheon / General Dynamics 20mm, six-barrelled Phalanx mk15 close-in weapon systems (CIWS). Phalanx block 1B was installed on USS Howard, Bulkeley, and Cole, and will also be installed on new-build vessels.
The Phalanx 1B upgrade includes a Thales Optronics HDTI5-2F thermal imager, an improved Ku-band radar, and a longer gun barrel, providing an increased rate of fire of 4,500rpm. The Flight IIA vessel USS Winston Churchill is the first ship to be fitted with the US Navy’s most advanced gun, the mk45 mod 4, which can fire extended-range guided munitions (ERGM) to a range of nearly 60 miles.
The destroyers are fitted with six (two triple) 324mm mk32 mod 14 torpedo tubes for launching ATK (AlliantTechsystems) mk46 or mk50 active/passive homing anti-submarine torpedoes.
