Jamaran class destroyer

Arleigh Burke class destroyer

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. After the decommissioning of the last Spruance-class destroyer, USS Cushing, on September 21, 2005, the Arleigh Burke class ships became the U.S. Navy's only active destroyers.

The class is named for Admiral Arleigh "31-Knot" Burke, the most famous American 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."

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.

Characteristics

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 prompted the decision to employ a steel superstructure.

The Arleigh Burke class were the first U.S. warships designed with an air-filtration system against nuclear, biological and chemical warfare.

Development

In 1980 the United States Navy initiated design studies with seven contractors. By 1983 the number of competitors had been reduced to three; Bath Iron Works, Todd Shipyards and Ingalls Shipbuilding. On 3 April 1985 Bath Iron Works received a US$321.9 million contract to build the first of class, USS Arleigh Burke. The total cost of the first ship was put at US$1.1 billion, the other US$778 million being for the ship's weapons systems.

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 Mark 45 Mod 4 5-inch/62-caliber naval gun (fitted on Winston S. Churchill (DDG-81) and later ships). Later Flight IIA ships starting with USS Mustin have a modified funnel design that buries the funnels within the superstructure as a signature-reduction measure. TACTAS Towed array sonar was omitted from flight IIA ships and they also lack Harpoon launchers. Ships from DDG-68 to DDG-84 have AN/SLQ-32 antennas that resemble V3 configuration similar to those deployed on Aegis cruisers, while the remainder appear to have V5 variants externally resembling ones deployed on Oliver Hazard Perry frigates. V3 has an active electronic countermeasures component while V5 is passive only. In 2007, images of some flight IIA units, (Preble, Mustin), show an aft CIWS had been added, though they were constructed without a CIWS.

USS Pinckney, USS Momsen, USS Chung-Hoon, USS Nitze, USS James E. Williams and USS Bainbridge have superstructure differences to accommodate the Remote Mine-hunting System (RMS). MK 32 torpedo tubes were moved to the missile deck from amidships as well.

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 retirement of the U.S. Iowa-class battleships. Among other things this modernization includes is the extension of the range of the 5 inch 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.However the ERGM has been cancelled.

Modernization

The U.S. Navy recently launched a modernization program that is designed to provide a comprehensive mid-life upgrade to ensure that the class remains effective. Reduced manning, increased mission effectiveness, and a reduced total cost of ownership are the goals of the modernization program. Modernization technologies will be integrated during new construction of DDG 111 and 112, then retrofitted into DDG Flight I and II ships during in service overhaul periods.

Operational History

One Arleigh Burke class ship has been damaged by enemy action: Cole was damaged 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.

Contractors

Builders: 33 units constructed by General Dynamics, Bath Iron Works Division and 29 by Northrop Grumman Ship Systems, Ingalls Shipbuilding
AN/SPY-1 Radar and Combat System Integrator: Lockheed Martin

Ships

Flight I
Name	Number	Builder	Launched	Commissioned	Home port	Status
Arleigh Burke	DDG-51	Bath Iron Works	16 September 1989	4 July 1991		Active
Barry	DDG-52	Ingalls Shipbuilding	8 June 1991	12 December 1992		Active
John Paul Jones	DDG-53	Bath Iron Works	26 October 1991	18 December 1993		Active
Curtis Wilbur	DDG-54	Bath Iron Works	16 May 1992	19 March 1994		Active
Stout	DDG-55	Ingalls Shipbuilding	16 October 1992	13 August 1994		Active
John S. McCain	DDG-56	Bath Iron Works	September 26 1992	2 July 1994		Active
Mitscher	DDG-57	Ingalls Shipbuilding	7 May 1993	10 December 1994		Active
Laboon	DDG-58	Bath Iron Works	20 February 1993	18 March 1995		Active
Russell	DDG-59	Ingalls Shipbuilding	20 October 1994	20 May 1995		Active
Paul Hamilton	DDG-60	Bath Iron Works	24 July 1993	27 May 1995		Active
Ramage	DDG-61	Ingalls Shipbuilding	11 February 1994	22 July 1995		Active
Fitzgerald	DDG-62	Bath Iron Works	29 January 1994	14 October 1995		Active
Stethem	DDG-63	Ingalls Shipbuilding	17 July 1994	21 October 1995		Active
Carney	DDG-64	Bath Iron Works	23 July 1994	13 April 1996		Active
Benfold	DDG-65	Ingalls Shipbuilding	09 November 1994	30 March 1996		Active
Gonzalez	DDG-66	Bath Iron Works	18 February 1995	12 October 1996		Active
Cole	DDG-67	Ingalls Shipbuilding	10 February 1995	08 June 1996		Active
The Sullivans	DDG-68	Bath Iron Works	12 August 1995	19 April 1997		Active
Milius	DDG-69	Ingalls Shipbuilding	01 August 1995	23 November 1996		Active
Hopper	DDG-70	Bath Iron Works	06 January 1996	06 September 1997		Active
Ross	DDG-71	Ingalls Shipbuilding	22 March 1996	28 June 1997		Active
Flight II
Mahan	DDG-72	Bath Iron Works	29 June 1996	02 February 1998		Active
Decatur	DDG-73	Bath Iron Works	10 November 1996	29 August 1998		Active
McFaul	DDG-74	Ingalls Shipbuilding	18 January 1997	25 April 1998		Active
Donald Cook	DDG-75	Bath Iron Works	3 May 1997	4 December 1998		Active
Higgins	DDG-76	Bath Iron Works	4 October 1997	24 April 1999		Active
O'Kane	DDG-77	Bath Iron Works	28 March 1998	23 October 1999		Active
Porter	DDG-78	Ingalls Shipbuilding	12 November 1997	20 March 1999		Active
Flight IIA ships: 5"/54 variant
Oscar Austin	DDG-79	Bath Iron Works	7 November 1998	19 August 2000		Active
Roosevelt	DDG-80	Ingalls Shipbuilding	10 January 1999	14 October 2000		Active
Flight IIA ships: 5"/62 variant
Winston S. Churchill	DDG-81	Bath Iron Works	17 April 1999	10 March 2001		Active
Lassen	DDG-82	Ingalls Shipbuilding	16 October 1999	21 April 2001		Active
Howard	DDG-83	Bath Iron Works	20 November 1999	20 October 2001		Active
Bulkeley	DDG-84	Ingalls Shipbuilding	21 June 2000	8 December 2001		Active
Flight IIA ships: with 5"/62 no 20mm CIWS variant
McCampbell	DDG-85	Bath Iron Works	2 July 2000	17 August 2002		Active
Shoup	DDG-86	Ingalls Shipbuilding	22 November 2000	22 June 2002	Everett, Washington	Active
Mason	DDG-87	Bath Iron Works	23 June 2001	12 April 2003		Active
Preble	DDG-88	Ingalls Shipbuilding	1 June 2001	9 November 2002		Active
Mustin	DDG-89	Ingalls Shipbuilding	12 December 2001	26 July 2003		Active
Chafee	DDG-90	Bath Iron Works	2 November 2002	18 October 2003		Active
Pinckney	DDG-91	Ingalls Shipbuilding	26 June 2002	29 May 2004		Active
Momsen	DDG-92	Bath Iron Works	19 July 2003	18 September 2004	Everett, Washington	Active
Chung-Hoon	DDG-93	Ingalls Shipbuilding	15 December 2002	18 September 2004		Active
Nitze	DDG-94	Bath Iron Works	3 April 2004	5 March 2005		Active
James E. Williams	DDG-95	Ingalls Shipbuilding	25 June 2003	11 December 2004		Active
Bainbridge	DDG-96	Bath Iron Works	13 November 2004	12 November 2005		Active
Halsey	DDG-97	Ingalls Shipbuilding	9 January 2004	30 July 2005		Active
Forrest Sherman	DDG-98	Ingalls Shipbuilding	2 October 2004	28 January 2006		Active
Farragut	DDG-99	Bath Iron Works	23 July 2005	10 June 2006		Active
Kidd	DDG-100	Ingalls Shipbuilding	22 January 2005	9 June 2007		Active
Gridley	DDG-101	Bath Iron Works	28 December 2005	10 February 2007		Active
Sampson	DDG-102	Bath Iron Works	16 September 2006	3 November 2007		Active
Truxtun	DDG-103	Ingalls Shipbuilding	2 June 2007
Sterett	DDG-104	Bath Iron Works	19 May 2007	9 August 2008		Active
Dewey	DDG-105	Ingalls Shipbuilding	26 January 2008
Stockdale	DDG-106	Bath Iron Works
Gravely	DDG-107	Ingalls Shipbuilding				Authorized
Wayne E. Meyer	DDG-108	Bath Iron Works				Authorized
Jason Dunham	DDG-109	Bath Iron Works				Authorized
William P. Lawrence	DDG-110	Ingalls Shipbuilding
Spruance	DDG-111	Bath Iron Works				Authorized
Michael Murphy	DDG-112	Bath Iron Works

The USS Michael Murphy was originally intended to be the last of the Arleigh Burke class, however with cancellation of the Zumwalt (DDG-1000) class after the first three ships are completed, 8-11 new vessels are now planned to be added to the Arleigh Burke class.