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.
The Aegis ballistic missile defense system, also known as Sea-Based Midcourse, is a United States Department of Defense Missile Defense Agency program developed to provide missile defense against short to intermediate-range ballistic missiles. The program is part of the United States national missile defense strategy and European NATO missile defence system.
USS Decatur (DDG-73) is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer in the United States Navy. She is named for the former naval officer Stephen Decatur, Jr. This ship is the 22nd destroyer of her class. USS Decatur was the 13th ship of this class to be built at Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine, and construction began on 11 January 1996. She was launched on 10 November 1996 and was christened on 8 November 1996. On 29 August 1998 she was commissioned at the Tom McCall Waterfront Park in Portland, Oregon.
USS Hopper (DDG-70) is an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer of the United States Navy, named for the pioneering computer scientist Rear Admiral Grace Hopper.
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.
USS The Sullivans (DDG-68) is an Arleigh Burke-class Aegis guided missile destroyer. She is the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the five Sullivan brothers – George, Francis, Joseph, Madison, and Albert Sullivan, aged 20 to 27 – who lost their lives when their ship, USS Juneau, was sunk by a Japanese submarine in November 1942 in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. This was the greatest military loss by any one American family during World War II.
USS Barry (DDG-52) is an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, commissioned in 1992. Barry is the fourth United States Navy ship named after the "Father of the American Navy", Commodore John Barry (1745–1803). Her homeport is Naval Station Everett, Washington. Several improvements over Arleigh Burke exist on this ship and all following Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, such as the ability to refuel a helicopter.
USS John Paul Jones (DDG-53) is the third Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer in the United States Navy and the first ship of the class homeported on the west coast. She is the fifth ship named after American Revolutionary War naval captain John Paul Jones and the second to carry his first name. She was built at Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine. The ship is part of Destroyer Squadron 9 of Carrier Strike Group 11, which is headed by the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN-68).
USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG-54) is the fourth Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer. Curtis Wilbur was named for Curtis D. Wilbur, forty-third Secretary of the Navy, who served under President Calvin Coolidge. In 2016, she was based at Yokosuka, Japan, as part of Destroyer Squadron 15.
The Ticonderoga class of guided-missile cruisers is a class of warships in the United States Navy, first ordered and authorized in the 1978 fiscal year. The class uses passive phased-array radar and was originally planned as a class of destroyers. However, the increased combat capability offered by the Aegis Combat System and the AN/SPY-1 radar system, 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.
USS Ross (DDG-71) is an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer in the United States Navy. She is the second Navy ship to be named Ross, the first Navy ship named for Medal of Honor recipient Donald K. Ross and the 21st destroyer of her class. The first Ross, DD-563, was named for David Ross, a captain in the Continental Navy.
USS McFaul (DDG-74) is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer in the United States Navy. She is named for U.S. Navy SEAL Chief Petty Officer Donald L. McFaul. This ship is the 24th destroyer of her class. USS McFaul was the 11th ship of this class to be built at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and construction began on 26 January 1996. She was launched on 18 January 1997 and was christened on 12 April 1997. On 25 April 1998 she had her commissioning ceremony at the Garden City Terminal in Savannah, Georgia. As of July 2020 the ship is part of Destroyer Squadron 26 based out of Naval Station Norfolk.
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. It is a multi-role class that 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 Kongō class of guided-missile destroyers in the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force are equipped with the Aegis Combat System, and is the first of few ship classes outside the United States to have that capability. Following a decision made in December 2003, Japan is upgrading their Kongo-class destroyers with Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System. The upgrade involves a series of installations and flight tests to take place from 2007 to 2010. JS Kongo was the first ship to have the BMD upgrade installed.
Mark E. Ferguson III is a retired United States Navy admiral who last served as Commander, United States Naval Forces Europe, United States Naval Forces Africa and Allied Joint Force Command Naples. Ferguson previously served as the 37th Vice Chief of Naval Operations from August 22, 2011 to July 1, 2014. Prior to that, he served as the 55th Chief of Naval Personnel and Deputy Chief of Naval Operations. He also served as chief of legislative affairs and assistant commander for distribution, Navy Personnel Command. He retired from active duty on July 1, 2016.
USS Michael Murphy (DDG-112) is the 62nd ship of the Arleigh Burke class of guided missile destroyers in the United States Navy. She is named for Medal of Honor recipient Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy (1976–2005). Murphy was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during Operation Red Wings in Afghanistan in June 2005. He was the first sailor awarded the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War. The ship's name was announced by Secretary of the Navy, Donald C. Winter on 7 May 2008. The ship was christened on 7 May 2011, Murphy's birthday, by her sponsor Maureen Murphy, Michael Murphy's mother. The ship is part of Destroyer Squadron 31 of Naval Surface Group Middle Pacific.
USS Ralph Johnson (DDG-114) is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer of the United States Navy. Ralph Johnson is the 64th ship of the class and was commissioned on 24 March 2018.
USS John Finn (DDG-113) is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer in service with the United States Navy. The contract to build her was awarded to Ingalls Shipbuilding of Pascagoula, Mississippi, on 15 June 2011. Ingalls has been a subsidiary of Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) since its acquisition in April 2001. Prior to the award, Ingalls had constructed 28 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, the last one of which was USS William P. Lawrence. On 15 February 2011, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced the ship's name to be John Finn after John William Finn, the first Medal of Honor recipient of World War II. He was so honored for machine-gunning Japanese warplanes for over two hours during the December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor despite being shot in the foot and shoulder, and suffering numerous shrapnel wounds. He retired as a lieutenant after thirty years of service and died at age 100 in 2010.
USS Rafael Peralta (DDG-115) is an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer in the United States Navy. The destroyer can operate with a Carrier Strike Group (CSG), Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG), as an element of a Surface Action Group (SAG), or independently. The ship can conduct a variety of missions in support of national military strategy. From peacetime presence and crisis management to sea control and power projection, 115 will be capable of carrying out Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD), Undersea Warfare (USW), Surface Warfare (SW), and Strike Warfare (STW) in multi-threat environments.
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