The Phalanx CIWS is an automated gun-based close-in weapon system to defend military watercraft automatically against incoming threats such as aircraft, missiles, and small boats. It was designed and manufactured by the General Dynamics Corporation, Pomona Division, later a part of Raytheon. Consisting of a radar-guided 20 mm (0.8 in) Vulcan cannon mounted on a swiveling base, the Phalanx has been used by the United States Navy and the naval forces of 15 other countries. The U.S. Navy deploys it on every class of surface combat ship, except the Zumwalt-class destroyer and San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock. Other users include the British Royal Navy, the Royal Australian Navy, the Royal New Zealand Navy, the Royal Canadian Navy, and the U.S. Coast Guard.
An anti-ship missile is a guided missile that is designed for use against ships and large boats. Most anti-ship missiles are of the sea-skimming variety, and many use a combination of inertial guidance and active radar homing. A large number of other anti-ship missiles use infrared homing to follow the heat that is emitted by a ship; it is also possible for anti-ship missiles to be guided by radio command all the way.
The Arleigh Burke class of guided-missile destroyers (DDGs) is a United States Navy class of destroyer centered 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. With an overall length of 505 to 509.5 feet, displacement ranging from 8,300 to 9,700 tons, and weaponry including over 90 missiles, the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are larger and more heavily armed than many previous classes of guided-missile cruisers.
The Aegis Combat System is an American integrated naval weapons system, which uses computers and radars to track and guide weapons to destroy enemy targets. It was developed by the Missile and Surface Radar Division of RCA, and it is now produced by Lockheed Martin.
USS Arleigh Burke (DDG-51), named for Admiral Arleigh A. Burke, USN (1901–1996), is the lead ship of the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers. She was laid down by the Bath Iron Works company at Bath, Maine, on 6 December 1988; launched on 16 September 1989; and commissioned on 4 July 1991.
The Spruance-class destroyer was developed by the United States to replace the many World War II–built Allen M. Sumner- and Gearing-class destroyers, and was the primary destroyer built for the United States Navy during the 1970s and 1980s. It was named in honor of U.S. Navy Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, who successfully led major naval battles in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater during World War II such as the Battle of Midway and the Battle of the Philippine Sea.
The Charles F. Adams class is a ship class of 29 guided-missile destroyers (DDG) built between 1958 and 1967. Twenty-three were built for the United States Navy, three for the Royal Australian Navy, and three for the West German Bundesmarine. The design of these ships was based on that of Forrest Sherman-class destroyers, but the Charles F. Adams class were the first class designed to serve as guided-missile destroyers. 19 feet (5.8 m) of length was added to the center of the design of the Forrest Sherman class to carry the ASROC launcher. The Charles F. Adams-class were the last steam turbine-powered destroyers built for the U.S. Navy. Starting with the succeeding Spruance-class, all U.S. Navy destroyers have been powered by gas turbines. Some of the U.S. Charles F. Adams class served during the blockade of Cuba in 1962 and during the Vietnam War; those of the Royal Australian Navy served during the Vietnam War and Gulf War.
The Ticonderoga class of guided-missile cruisers is a class of warships of the United States Navy, first ordered and authorized in the 1978 fiscal year. It was originally planned as a class of destroyers. However, the increased combat capability offered by the Aegis Combat System and the passive phased array AN/SPY-1 radar, together with the capability of operating as a flagship, were used to justify the change of the classification from DDG to CG shortly before the keels were laid down for Ticonderoga and Yorktown.
The Virginia class were four nuclear-powered, guided-missile cruisers that served in the United States Navy until the mid-to-late 1990s. The double-ended cruisers were commissioned between 1976 and 1980. They were the final class of nuclear-powered cruisers completed and the last ships ordered as Destroyer Leaders under the pre-1975 classification system.
The Zumwalt-class destroyer is a class of three United States Navy guided-missile destroyers designed as multi-mission stealth ships with a focus on land attack. The class was designed with a primary role of naval gunfire support and secondary roles of surface warfare and anti-aircraft warfare. The class design emerged from the DD-21 "land attack destroyer" program as "DD(X)" and was intended to take the role of battleships in meeting a congressional mandate for naval fire support. The ship is designed around its two Advanced Gun Systems (AGS), turrets with 920 round magazines, and unique Long Range Land Attack Projectile (LRLAP) ammunition. LRLAP procurement was canceled, rendering the guns unusable, so the Navy re-purposed the ships for surface warfare. Starting in 2023, the Navy will remove the AGS from the ships and replace them with hypersonic missiles.
The 5-inch /54-caliber lightweight gun is a U.S. naval artillery gun mount consisting of a 5 in (127 mm) L54 Mark 19 gun on the Mark 45 mount. It was designed and built by United Defense, a company later acquired by BAE Systems Land & Armaments, which continued manufacture.
New Threat Upgrade (NTU) was a United States Navy program to improve and modernize the capability of existing cruisers and destroyers equipped with Terrier and Tartar anti-aircraft systems, keeping them in service longer.
The RIM-66 Standard MR (SM-1MR/SM-2MR) is a medium-range surface-to-air missile (SAM), with a secondary role as an anti-ship missile, developed for the United States Navy (USN). A member of the Standard Missile family of weapons, the SM-1 was developed as a replacement for the RIM-2 Terrier and RIM-24 Tartar that were deployed in the 1950s on a variety of USN ships. The RIM-67 Standard (SM-1ER/SM-2ER) is an extended range version of this missile with a solid rocket booster stage.
The RIM-67 Standard ER (SM-1ER/SM-2ER) is an extended range surface-to-air missile (SAM) with a secondary anti-ship capability, originally developed for the United States Navy (USN). The RIM-67 was developed as a replacement for the RIM-8 Talos, a 1950s system deployed on a variety of USN ships, and eventually replaced the RIM-2 Terrier as well, since it was of a similar size and fitted existing Terrier launchers and magazines. The RIM-66 Standard MR was essentially the same missile without the booster stage, designed to replace the RIM-24 Tartar. The RIM-66/67 series thus became the US Navy's universal SAM system, hence the designation "Standard Missile".
The AN/SPY-6 is an active electronically scanned array 3D radar under development for the United States Navy (USN). It will provide integrated air and missile defense for Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. Variants are under development for retrofitting Flight IIA Arleigh Burkes and for installation aboard Constellation-class frigates, Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers, America-class amphibious assault ships, and San Antonio-class amphibious transport docks.
The AN/SPY-1 is a United States Navy 3D radar system manufactured by Lockheed Martin. The array is a passive electronically scanned system and a key component of the Aegis Combat System. The system is computer controlled and uses four complementary antennas to provide 360-degree coverage. The system was first installed in 1973 on USS Norton Sound and entered active service in 1983 as the SPY-1A on USS Ticonderoga. The -1A was installed on ships up to CG-58, with the -1B upgrade first installed on USS Princeton in 1986. The upgraded -1B(V) was retrofitted to existing ships from CG-59 up to the last, USS Port Royal.
The Mark 41 Vertical Launching System is a shipborne missile canister launching system which provides a rapid-fire launch capability against hostile threats. The Vertical Launch System (VLS) concept was derived from work on the Aegis Combat System.
The Mark 34 Gun Weapon System (GWS) is a component of the Aegis Combat System that is responsible for controlling and providing fire control to the 5" Mark 45 gun. It is used on the U.S. Navy Arleigh Burke-class destroyer and several later Ticonderoga-class cruisers. The Mk 34 GWS receives target data from the ship's sensors and off-ship sources, performs ballistic calculations, and produces gun control orders. The system is made up of the gun mount itself, the fire-control computer, and an optical sight.
The AN/SPG-60 is a United States tracking radar that is part of the MK-86 Gun Fire Control System (GFCS). It is used for air tracking and on some MK-86 configurations it is also used for illumination for RIM-24 Tartar and RIM-66 Standard missiles. Though the radar is primarily an air tracking radar, the SPG-60 radar can be used for surface tracking. With the boresight mounted camera, the radar could also be used as a sight for optical tracking, optical engagement and damage assessment.
The DDG(X) or Next-Generation Guided-Missile Destroyer program of the United States Navy aims to develop a class of surface combatants to succeed 22 Flight II Ticonderoga-class cruisers and 28 Flight I/II Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. The program is the culmination of the Large Surface Combatant (LSC) initiative that followed the cancellation of CG(X) and curtailing of the procurement of the Zumwalt-class destroyers. The ships will become the principal large surface combatants of the U.S. Navy. Compared to their predecessors, they will incorporate more powerful sensors and have more room and weight margin for growth.
