The U.S. Navy commissioned its newest Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Frank E. Petersen,
Jr.
, May 14 in Charleston, South Carolina.
The ship’s sponsors were Mrs. D’Arcy Ann Neller, wife of former Commandant of the Marine
Corps, Gen. Robert “Bob” Neller, USMC (Ret.), and the late Dr. Alicia J. Petersen,
Lt. Gen. Petersen’s wife , who passed away in September 2015.
Both sponsors participated in the keel laying, mast stepping, and christening ceremonies.
During the ceremony, USS Frank E. Petersen’s commanding officer Cmdr.
Daniel Hancock, reported the ship ready.
Assisted by Lt. Gen. Petersen’s daughters, Gayle Petersen, Dana Petersen Moore, Lindsay
Pulliam, and Monique Petersen, Mrs. Neller gave the traditional order to “Man our ship
and bring her to life!”​
In this video, Defense Updates analyzes how potent is the latest Arleigh Burke class warship
USS Frank E. Petersen, Jr.?
Let’s get into the details
USS Frank E. Petersen, Jr. is the Flight-IIA Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer.
The class is named for Admiral Arleigh Burke, an American destroyer officer in World War
II, and later Chief of Naval Operations.
The Arleigh Burke-class ships became the U.S. Navy's only active destroyers until the Zumwalt
class became active in 2016.
The Arleigh Burke class has the longest production run for any post-World War II U.S. Navy surface
combatant.
Arleigh Burke-class warships are designed to be capable of performing multiple missions
like Anti Aircraft Warfare (AAW), Anti Submarine Warfare (ASW) and Anti Surface Warfare (ASuW).
USS Frank E. Petersen, Jr. was laid down on February 21, 2017.
USS Frank E. Petersen, Jr. being an Arleigh Burke class destroyer is among the largest
destroyers built in the United States.
It has an overall length of 155 m and displacement of about 9,200 tons.
The Arleigh Burke design incorporates several stealth configurations like angled rather
than traditional vertical surfaces.
It makes these warships hard to target by Anti Ship Missile
For propulsion, it has 4 General Electric LM2500-30 gas turbines generating 75 MW of
power, driving 2 shafts.
It has a speed of 30+ knots (55+ km/h) and range of 4,400 nmi (8,100 km)
The Arleigh Burke class of guided missile destroyer is the United States Navy's first
class of destroyer to be built from grounds up to incorporate the Aegis Combat System.
It enables USS Frank E. Petersen, Jr. to shoot down enemy ballistic missiles by expanding
the Aegis Combat System with the addition of the AN/SPY-1 radar and Standard missiles.
The centerpiece of the AEGIS systems is a very powerful multi-purpose AN/SPY-1 radar.
It is considered to be one of the most advanced naval radar that can automatically detect
and track targets.
The high-power of 4 MW enables it to simultaneously track over 100 targets and guide missiles.
USS Frank E. Petersen, Jr. has AN/SQS-53C sonar array.
This is the latest variant of AN/SQS-53 series sonar.
It is a computer-controlled surface-ship sonar that can work both in both active and passive
mode.
It can provide precise information for Anti Submarine Warfare control and guidance.
USS Frank E. Petersen, Jr. will also have AN/SQR-19 Tactical Towed Array Sonar (TACTAS)
The AN/SQR-19 provides very long-range passive detection against the enemy submarine.
USS Frank E. Petersen, Jr. will be one of the most heavily armed destroyers in the world.
It is designed to be a multi-weapons platform and is capable of dealing with various kind
of threats.
USS Frank E. Petersen, Jr. will have in total 96 cell Mk 41 Vertical Launch System (VLS)
divided into two blocks of 32 & 64 cells.
These can be configured with the combination of the several kind weapons, based on the
mission.
Some of these are follows: 1.
BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missile for Land attack 2.
RIM-66 Standard Missile 2 (SM 2) Surface to Air Missile for air defense
3.
RIM-161 Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) for AEGIS ballistic missile defense
4.
RUM-139 VL-ASROC Missile for Anti Submarine Role
5.
RIM-174 Standard Extended Range Active Missile (ERAM), or Standard Missile 6 (SM-6) for Anti-Air
Warfare as well as Anti Ship.
6.
Each VLS cell can also be quad packed with RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles (ESSM).
The ESSM is designed to protect ships from attacking missiles and aircraft.
It also can be equipped with 2 × Mk 141 Harpoon Missile Launcher for Anti Ship role.
It has a range of 70 to 150 miles depending on variant.
The ship is equipped with two Mark 46 triple torpedo tubes.
Mk-46 torpedoes is a potent weapon and can potentially cripple any ship with one strike.
2 MH-60R Seahawk LAMPS III helicopters are also present for Anti Submarine Warfare.
Other than it is equipped with a long-range naval gun for close range offense.
It also has ‘Phalanx’ Close-In Weapon System for last-ditch missile defense.
Arleigh Burke class warships have seen many incremental upgraded and have been able to
include several key additions.
USS Frank E. Petersen, Jr. is one of the vessels from 'Flight IIA: Technology Insertion’
block.
The U.S currently has around 69 Arleigh Burke-class destroyer in active service and the number
will swell as there is a plan to have around 82 of these.
The important aspect is the Arleigh Burke class are versatile and since they are present
is in a decent number, they provide a lot of flexibility to the U.S Navy.
This has great strategic significance as the U.S is now facing a very assertive China.
USS Frank E. Petersen, Jr. will certainly add to the American military's endeavor to
maintain an edge against its rival.