The Arleigh Burke class destroyers are the U.S. Navy's definitive surface combat warship of the late 20th and early 21st century. Although classified as destroyers rather than cruisers, the Burke class are full-fledged multirole surface combatants which serve as "universal" next-generation successors to both nuclear-powered guided missile cruisers and conventionally powered guided missile destroyers.
The successful downscaling of both the AEGIS integrated combat system and nuclear propulsion to a smaller and more efficient hull under ten thousand tons makes the previous distinction between the longer-range nuclear escort cruiser and the short-range destroyer obsolete. Rather than class all of its surface combatant warships as cruisers, the Navy opts to class the Burkes as destroyers on the narrower distinction of being non-flagships.
Design
The Burkes have a full load displacement of approximately 9,000 tons, making them only marginally smaller than prior guided-missile cruisers despite their "lesser" classification. They measure 550 feet long with a beam of 60 feet and a draft of 25 feet.
Unlike the vast majority of American warships, the Burkes are not flush deck; instead, the main deck breaks to a raised forecastle deck forward of the superstructure. The bow is a clipper layout with a large bulbous flare below the waterline, while the stern is a flat transom design with two propeller shafts and two semi-balanced rudders.
The Burkes' superstructure consists of two large deckhouses, both of which extend across the full beam of the ship and blend seamlessly into the sides of the hull. The forward deckhouse is placed at the aft edge of the foredeck and incorporates the ship's stack and raked tripod foremast, while the aft deckhouse is placed at the extreme stern of the ship and primarily houses the above-deck helicopter hangar. The open amidships space between the deckhouses is the flight deck.
- USS Arleigh Burke (DDGN-X)
Details
Combat Systems
Originally developed as the Advanced Surface Missile System (ASMS), the Aegis Combat System is an "integrated naval weapons system" which implements high level computer-assisted command and control of shipboard radar and weapons for effective tracking and weapon guidance against large numbers of targets, especially large ssalvo anti-ship missile threats.
Anti-Air Warfare
The Aegis system's primary sensor is the AN/SPY-1, a six-megawatt F-band radar system consisting of four electronically scanned phased array panels mounted on the ship's superstructure. This system provides 360-degree, horizon-to-zenith, three-dimensional radar coverage out to approximately two hundred miles, and is capable of generating multiple independent radar beams to simultaneously perform search, track, and missile guidance throughout that volume. With this radar and its computerized data processing, Aegis can automatically track every air target within that search volume up to a saturation limit of well over a hundred simultaneous contacts.
Anti-Surface Warfare
Due to the lack of any serious naval rival following the fall of the Soviet Union, the anti-surface warfare mission has been significantly de-emphasized in the Burkes.
Like the majority of U.S. Navy surface combatants, the Burkes rely primarily on the RGM-84 Harpoon surface to surface missile to fulfill the basic anti-surface warfare mission, with two Mark 141 two-round or four-round canister launch systems fitted aft. An extended-range anti-ship capability is originally provided by the RGM-109B Tomahawk Anti-Ship Missile (TASM), but this is retired without replacement in 1994. Extended range capability is restored ~2025 with the introduction of the RGM-109E Block Va Maritime Strike Tomahawk.
The Burkes can also engage minor surface vessels and small boats at close range, with a single 3"⁄62 Mark 75 deck gun at the bow and two Bushmaster 25mm⁄87 Mark 38 Machine Gun Systems amidships. The latter are initially fielded in manually operated pedestal mounts, but from 2004 onward are upgraded to much more effective "Typhoon" remotely operated two-axis stabilized mounts with semi-independent electro-optical⁄infrared targeting.
Anti-Submarine Warfare
Anti-submarine capability is primarily achieved via an embarked pair of Sikorsky SH-60B or MH-60R Seahawk medium-lift helicopters fitted with Light Airborne Multi-Purpose System (LAMPS) Mark III equipment, which includes a search radar, FLIR turret, towed magnetic anomaly detector system, air-launched sonobuoys, and a pair of 12.75" lightweight torpedoes.
However, the Burkes> are also equipped with the AN⁄SQQ-89 Undersea Warfare Combat System, which ties a bow-mounted AN⁄SQS-53 sonar array and a stern-mounted AN⁄SQR-19 Tactical Towed Array SONAR (TACTAS) into the Aegis Combat System. At close range, submarines may be directly engaged using two Mark 32 Surface Vessel Torpedo Tube (SVTT) triple launchers, one on each side of the hangar roof. The torpedo tubes are typically loaded with Mark 46 12.75" lightweight torpedoes, but are also compatible with the higher performance Mark 50 Advanced Lightweight Torpedo and (from 2003 onwards) the Mark 54 Lightweight Hybrid Torpedo.
Land Attack
Propulsion
The Burkes utilize nuclear turboelectric propulsion with a single D3W nuclear reactor, a 250-megawatt class unit sharing the core design of the Seawolf class attack submarine's S6W submarine reactor.
Armament
The Burkes are armed with two Mark 41 vertical launch systems, one 7"45 gun system, two triple torpedo tubes, two Phalanx point-defense guns, and two 25mm autocannons.