Manufacturer: Bath Iron Works, Huntington Ingalls Industries
Service: USN Armament: Standard Missile (SM-2MR); Vertical Launch ASROC missiles; Tomahawk; 6x MK-46 torpedoes; Close In Weapon System; 5-inch Mk45 Gun; Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile Propulsion: 4x General Electric LM 2500-30 gas turbines, two shafts Speed: 30 knots Crew: 276DDG 51 Arleigh Burke destroyers are warships that provide multi-mission offensive and defensive capabilities. Destroyers can operate independently or as part of carrier strike groups, surface action groups, amphibious ready groups, and underway replenishment groups.
Guided missile destroyers are multi-mission Anti-Air Warfare (AAW), Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), and Anti-Surface Warfare (ASUW)] surface combatants. The destroyer's armament has greatly expanded the role of the ship in strike warfare utilizing the MK-41 Vertical Launch System (VLS).
Technological advances have improved the capability of modern destroyers culminating in the Arleigh Burke (DDG 51) class replacing the older Charles F. Adams and Farragut class guided missile destroyers. Like the larger Ticonderoga-class cruisers, DDG 51's combat capability centers around the Aegis Weapon System (AWS). AWS is composed of the SPY-1D multi-function phased array radar, advanced AAW and ASW systems, VLS, and the Tomahawk Weapon System. These advances allow the Arleigh Burke-class to continue the revolution at sea.
The Arleigh Burke class employs all-steel construction and is comprised of three separate variants or “Flights”: DDG 51-71 represent the original design and are designated Flight I ships; DDG 72-78 are Flight II ships; DDG 79 and Follow ships are built or are being built to the Flight IIA design. The Flight III baseline is planned for the second ship in FY16.
Sixty two ships are currently operating in the Fleet. An additional thirteen ships are under contract, including the most recent contract award on June 3, 2013 for nine ships as part of the FY13-17 multi-year procurement contracts with Huntington Ingalls Industries and Bath Iron Works.
Like most modern U.S. surface combatants, DDG 51 utilizes gas turbine propulsion. Employing four General Electric LM 2500 gas turbines to produce 100,000 total shaft horsepower via a dual shaft design, Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are capable of achieving 30 plus knot speeds in open seas.
The Flight IIA design includes the addition of the Kingfisher mine-avoidance capability, a pair of helicopter hangars which provide the ability to deploy with two organic Lamps MK III MH-60 helicopters, blast-hardened bulkheads, distributed electrical system and advanced networked systems. Additionally, DDGs 91-96 provide accommodations for the A/N WLD-1 Remote Mine-hunting System. The first Flight IIA, USS Oscar Austin, was commissioned in August 2000.
A DDG modernization program is underway to provide a comprehensive mid-life upgrade that will ensure the DDG 51 class will maintain mission relevance and remain an integral part of the Navy’s Sea Power 21 Plan. The modernization changes are also being introduced to new construction ships to increase the baseline capabilities of the newest ships in the class, and to provide commonality between new construction ships and modernized in-service ships. The goal of the DDG modernization effort is to reduce workload requirements and increase war fighting capabilities while reducing total ownership cost to the Navy. In-service ships can be modernized by two distinct packages: Combat Systems (C/S) and Hull, Mechanical, and Electrical (HM&E) upgrades.
The HM&E package includes new Gigabit Ethernet connectivity in the engineering plant and a Digital Video Surveillance System (DVSS), along with the Integrated Bridge Navigation System (IBNS), an Advanced Galley, and other habitability modifications. A complete Open Architecture computing environment is the foundation for ships receiving the C/S war fighting improvements. This upgrade plan consists of a new Multi-Mission Signal Processor to accommodate additional Ballistic Missile Defense capability and an improvement to radar performance in the littoral regions.
Additional upgrades include: Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC), Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM), CIWS Blk 1B, SEWIP, and NULKA. The Arleigh Burke-class MK-41 Vertical Launching System (VLS) will be upgraded to support SM-3 and newer variants of the SM missile family. Throughout their expected service life, DDG 51 destroyers will continue to provide multi-mission offensive and defensive capabilities with the added benefit of sea-based protection from the ballistic missile threat.
Ships in the class:
USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 51), Norfolk, VA
USS Barry (DDG 52), Norfolk, VA
USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53), San Diego, CA
USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG 54), Yokosuka, Japan
USS Stout (DDG 55), Norfolk, VA
USS John S McCain (DDG 56), Yokosuka, Japan
USS Mitscher (DDG 57), Norfolk, VA
USS Laboon (DDG 58), Norfolk, VA
USS Russell (DDG 59), Pearl Harbor, HI
USS Paul Hamilton (DDG 60), Pearl Harbor, HI
USS Ramage (DDG 61), Norfolk, VA
USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62), Yokosuka, Japan
USS Stethem (DDG 63), Yokosuka, Japan
USS Carney (DDG 64), Mayport, FL
USS Benfold (DDG 65), San Diego, CA
USS Gonzalez (DDG 66), Norfolk, VA
USS Cole (DDG 67), Norfolk, VA
USS The Sullivans (DDG 68), Mayport, FL
USS Milius (DDG 69), San Diego, CA
USS Hopper (DDG 70), Pearl Harbor, HI
USS Ross (DDG 71), Norfolk, VA
USS Mahan (DDG 72), Norfolk, VA
USS Decatur (DDG 73), San Diego, CA
USS McFaul (DDG 74), Norfolk, VA
USS Donald Cook (DDG 75), Norfolk, VA
USS Higgins (DDG 76), San Diego, CA
USS O'kane (DDG 77), Pearl Harbor, HI
USS Porter (DDG 78), Norfolk, VA
USS Oscar Austin (DDG 79), Norfolk, VA
USS Roosevelt (DDG 80), Mayport, FL
USS Winston S Churchill (DDG 81), Norfolk, VA
USS Lassen (DDG 82), Yokosuka, Japan
USS Howard (DDG 83), San Diego, CA
USS Bulkeley (DDG 84), Norfolk, VA
USS McCampbell (DDG 85), Yokosuka, Japan
USS Shoup (DDG 86), Everett, WA
USS Mason (DDG 87), Norfolk, VA
USS Preble (DDG 88), San Diego, CA
USS Mustin (DDG 89), Yokosuka, Japan
USS Chafee (DDG 90), Pearl Harbor, HI
USS Pinckney (DDG 91), San Diego, CA
USS Momsen (DDG 92), Everett, WA
USS Chung-Hoon (DDG 93), Pearl Harbor, HI
USS Nitze (DDG 94), Norfolk, VA
USS James E Williams (DDG 95), Norfolk, VA
USS Bainbridge (DDG 96), Norfolk, VA
USS Halsey (DDG 97), San Diego, CA
USS Forrest Sherman (DDG 98), Norfolk, VA
USS Farragut (DDG 99), Mayport, FL
USS Kidd (DDG 100), San Diego, CA
USS Gridley (DDG 101), San Diego, CA
USS Sampson (DDG 102), San Diego, CA
USS Truxtun (DDG 103), Norfolk, VA
USS Sterett (DDG 104), San Diego, CA
USS Dewey (DDG 105), No homeport
USS Stockdale (DDG 106), San Diego, CA
USS Gravely (DDG 107), Norfolk, VA
USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG 108 ), San Diego, CA
USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109), Norfolk, VA
USS William P. Lawrence (DDG 110), San Diego, CA
USS Spruance (DDG 111), San Diego, CA
USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112), Pearl Harbor, HI
PCU John Finn (DDG 113), Under construction
PCU Ralph Johnson (DDG 114), Under construction
PCU Rafael Peralta (DDG 115), Under construction
PCU Thomas Hudner (DDG 116), Under construction
PCU Paul Ignatius (DDG 117)
PCU Daniel Inouye (DDG 118)
