The first of the American destroyers of the Arleigh Burke class was launched in 1989 and this long series continues in production as 2016.
The primary mission of these ships is antiaircraft, but they have as well significant capabilities against surface and submarine targets.
These ships are built integrally in steel, with exception of the aluminum funnels, because this latter material demonstrated to be inadequate
because of its deficient resistance to cracking and fire. Armor was reintroduced in the form of double-spaced steel armor and
71000 kilograms of kevlar that protect vital parts of the structure.
Another feature of the design is the profusion of angled surfaces to reduce the radar signature. They are as well the first American warships
that incorporate an air-filtration system against nuclear, biological and chemical hazards. The hull is considerable wider than in previous
classes to achieve improved seaworthiness and maneuverability as well as increased space. The earlier units of the class, as the one shown
in the illustration, were built without hangar facilities, a controversial decision that was rapidly regretted and fixed in the improved
Arleigh Burke class whose first ship was launched in November 1998.
Arleigh Burke class: 62 units including: Arleigh Burke (DDG-51), Barry (DDG-52), John Paul Jones (DDG-53),
Russell (DDG-59), Paul Hamilton (DDG-60), Ramage (DDG-61), Fitzgerald (DDG-62), Hopper (DDG-70), Ross (DDG-71), Mahan (DDG-72), Oscar Austin (DDG-79),
Roosevelt (DDG-80), Winston S. Churchill (DDG-81), Mc Campbell (DDG-85), Chafee (DDG-90), Pinckney (DDG-91), Momsen (DDG-92), Bainbridge (DDG-96),
Kidd (DDG-100), Truxtun (DDG-103), Spruance (DDG-111), John Finn (DDG-113) and Rafael Peralta (DDG-115)
Type: Missile destroyer
Length: 142.1 meters
Beam: 18.3 meters
Draught: 9.1 meters (including sonar bulb)
Displacement (full load): 8400 tonnes
Propulsion: 2 x shaft, 4 x gas turbine General Electric LM2500, 80000 horsepower
Speed: Over 30 knots (55.5 kilometers/hour)
Range: 5000 nautical miles (9260 kilometers) at 20 knots
Complement: 303
Armament (early design): 2 x Harpoon SSM quadruple launcher, 2 x Mk 41 61-cell Vertical Launch System, 1 x Mk 45 127-millimeter 54-caliber DP cannon,
2 x Mk 15 Vulcan Phalanx CIWS 20-millimeter cannon, 2 x Mk 32 triple 324-millimeter ASW torpedo launcher, 1 x LAMPS ASW helicopter
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