the arleigh burke class of guided missile destroyers or ddgs is a united states navy
destroyer built around the aegis combat system and the spy-1d multi-function
passive electronically scanned array radar the class is named for admiral arleigh burke an
american destroyer officer in world war ii and later chief of naval operations
the lead ship uss arleigh burke was commissioned during admiral burke's lifetime
the first arleigh burke class aegis destroyer was commissioned in 1991. the contracts for
the destroyers were split between the northrop grumman ship systems based in pasagula mississippi
and the general dynamics subsidiary bath works based in maine if you don't already know
destroyers are essentially military vehicles in a nation's navy they aren't pretty standard nowadays
and that's another reason for their significance their role is to protect the fleet from enemy
threats and in navies like the us destroyers are the main shield of aircraft carriers
their role is mandatory and such vessels need to be very advanced and efficient on the battlefield
the uss arleigh burke class destroyers fulfill all the criteria for that role
and stand at the top position of the most powerful destroyers in the world
in this video us military news channel will explain
why the arleigh burke class is the best destroyer in the world
the development of the first arleigh burke class destroyers started in 1988
and the first ship started serving for the us navy in 1991 so far there are 68 active vessels
seven are being built and three more are ordered the arleigh burke is among the most prominent
american destroyers ever built the arleigh burke class have an overall height of almost
500 feet or 155 meters a displacement of nearly 9 000 tons or 8 230 to 9700 depending on the ship
and armed with over 90 missiles the arleigh burke class are larger and more
heavily armed than most previous ships classified as guided missile cruisers
the first 21 destroyers ddg 51 through 71 are categorized as flight one the next seven
dtg 72 through 78 has flight 2 and ships starting from jack h lucas ddg 125 are classified as fly 3.
the revised flight 2a ships entered production in late 1997. 39 were commissioned and are in active
service the contracted vessels not yet in service include daniel inouye ddg 118. delbert d black
ddg 119 uss carl m levin ddg 120 uss frankie peterson jr ddg 121 ddg 122
and uss lena h sutcliffe higby ddg-123 other vessels not currently in service include uss
harvey c barnum jr ddg 124 jack h lucas ddg 125 ddg 126 ddg 127 ddg 128 ddg 129 ddg 130 ddg 131
ddg 132 ddg 133 ddg 134 ddg-135 ddg-136 ddg-137 and ddg-138 thomas hudner ddg 116 and paul
ignatius ddg 117 are the latest flight 2a ships entering service in december 2018 and july 2019.
delbert d black ddg 119 was christened in september 2017 and frankie peterson jr ddg 121
was launched in july 2018. ddg 123 uss lina h sutcliffe higbee keel was laid in november 2017.
daniel in nowhere ddg 118 the 68th ship in the arleigh burke class was christened in june 2019
in november 2019 separated from northrop grumman in 2011 huntington ingalls industries hii laid
and authenticated the keel of uss jack h lucas ddg 125 the first flight 3 arleigh burke class
destroyer the u.s navy awarded a contract to general dynamics for the construction of uss
harvey c barnum jr ddg 124 the last ship in the flight 2a configuration in march 2016. the first
steal for ddg 124 was cut in may 2018. in its fiscal year 2020 budget request the u.s navy
requested congress to approve funding to acquire three additional arleigh burke-class destroyers
the planned procurement would take the number of ships in the ddg 51 class to 85. in april 2018
the u.s navy unveiled plans to modernize the existing destroyers to keep them in service
for 10 additional years the projected ship's service life would increase to 45
from 35 or 40. michael murphy ddg 112 was the last of the 62 arleigh burke class destroyers
originally planned to procure a fleet of 32 zumwalt-class destroyers the u.s
navy truncated the acquisition program to three ships after recognizing the need for additional
arleigh burke-class ships to counter growing ballistic missile and anti-ship missile threats
the entire arleigh burke destroyer is made from steel with vital areas protected by
two layers of steel and 70 tons of kevlar armor except the two aluminum funnels the destroyer has
a platform for re-arming and refueling a lamps 3 sh-60b f helicopter with asw capabilities
still the ship cannot accommodate a helicopter of its own without hangers here's the first us
navy class to be fitted with anti-nbc warfare protection their roles can vary as they are
designed to perform in different missions they have systems capable of operating against other
threats of any kind they have anti-submarine warfare capabilities can defend the fleet
against aircraft and can attack hostile ships and surface targets with rockets and missiles
new experiments show that the arleigh burke destroyers can launch anti-ballistic missiles
and anti-satellite weapons if modifications are needed
the ships also have a limited radar cross-section to perform a little more stealthily especially
against anti-ship missiles the vessel is also equipped with the excellent aegis combat system
a radar capable enough to track and detect targets simultaneously and at the same time
invulnerable to electronic warfare attacks when it comes to armament the arleigh burke destroyers
feature the harpoon anti-ship missile launchers which range almost 75 miles or 120 kilometers plus
with the new tomahawk block 5 the destroyers have another option for anti-ship strikes
the tomahawk can also be very effective against surface targets defend the fleet against enemy
missiles and aircraft the vessels launch the rim-7 sparrow are rim-162 essm missiles
for this purpose the standard missile sm-2 and sm-6 can also be used if the mission requires
defense against ballistic missiles standard missile 3 and 6 are the available options
in anti-submarine warfare the ship has systems sonars and rockets very dangerous for enemy
submarines you can also carry the light airborne multipurpose system helicopter to be even more
effective in tracking and attacking submarines and underwater mines last but not least the different
ships are mounted with varying versions of the 5 inch mark 45 gun the 20 millimeter phalanx ciws
and 25 millimeter m242 bushmaster chain gun are also options for some vessels four ge lm 2500 gas
turbines power the destroyers rated at 33 600 horsepower with a power turbine speed of 3 600
rpms driving two shafts with controllable pitch propellers that's why the burk class dominates
in the seas the arleigh burke class military vessels are the most potent and deadly ships of
the us fleet they can defend the carrier strike group successfully against any possible threat
they can detect enemy vessels and missiles and launch the most advanced missiles and rockets of
the american army so the answer is straightforward to be answered the ships are enormous the biggest
active destroyers of the us navy difficult to be tracked equipped with advanced systems for any
mission and have the most deadly armament possible they quickly win any competition
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