Arleigh Burke class destroyer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Arleigh Burke class destroyer | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 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 destoyer |
| 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) • RIM-67 Standard SAM (has an ASuW mode) • RIM-162 ESSM SAM (DDG-79 onward) • RUM-139 Vertical Launch ASROC • one 5 inch (127mm/54) Mk-45 (lightweight gun) (DDG-51 through -80) • one 5 inch (127mm/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. With the decommissioning of the last Spruance-class destroyer, USS Cushing, on September 21, 2005, the Arleigh Burke class ships are the U.S. Navy's only active destroyers.
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 have prompted the decision to employ a steel superstructure.
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."
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.
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. Due to increased weight, the Flight IIA ships do not normally deploy with the RGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missile or towed array sonar.
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..
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 entension 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.[1][2][3]
Contents |
[edit] Contractors
- Builders: General Dynamics, Bath Iron Works Division and Northrop Grumman Ship Systems
- SPY-1 Radar and Combat System Integrator: Lockheed Martin
[edit] Ships
| Arleigh Burke-class destroyer |
| Flight I ships: Arleigh Burke | Barry | John Paul Jones | Curtis Wilbur | Stout | John S. McCain | Mitscher | Laboon | Russell | Paul Hamilton | Ramage | Fitzgerald | Stethem | Carney | Benfold | Gonzalez | Cole | The Sullivans | Milius | Hopper | Ross |
| Flight II ships: Mahan | Decatur | McFaul | Donald Cook | Higgins | O'Kane | Porter |
| Flight IIA ships: 5"/54 variant: Oscar Austin | Roosevelt | 5"/62 variant: Winston S. Churchill | Lassen | Howard | Bulkeley | McCampbell | Shoup | Mason | Preble | Mustin | Chafee | Pinckney | Momsen | Chung-Hoon | Nitze | James E. Williams | Bainbridge | Halsey | Forrest Sherman | Farragut | Kidd | Gridley | Sampson | Truxtun | Sterett | Dewey | Stockdale | Gravely | Wayne E. Meyer | Jason Dunham |
List of destroyers of the United States Navy List of destroyer classes of the United States Navy |
Additionally, DDG-108 through DDG-112 have been announced and awarded. The ships have not been named yet. DDG-112 will be the last of the class and is expected to be delivered in 2010.
| General Dynamics Corporation |
|---|
|
Corporate Directors: Nicholas Chabraja | James Crown | Lester Crown | William Fricks | Charles Goodman | Jay Johnson | George Joulwan | Paul Kaminski | John Keane | Lester Lyles | Carl Mundy | Robert Walmsley |
|
Subsidiaries: Bath Iron Works | Electric Boat | Land Systems | Gulfstream | NASSCO | MOWAG |
|
Annual Revenue: $19.4 billion USD ( |
[edit] References
[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
