The Arleigh Burke class Destroyer Armament Review

The Arleigh Burke class Destroyer Armament Review - Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are large, heavily-armed multi-mission vessels which form the backbone of the American surface combatant fleet along with Ticonderoga-class cruisers. The Arleigh Burke class boasts a formidable array of weaponry and can perform a variety of tasks, including anti-submarine warfare, cruise missile strikes, intelligence gathering, boarding operations, and more. However, the class is best suited for area air defense thanks to its powerful radars and arsenal of anti-air missiles. The Arleigh Burke class is the only American destroyer type currently in production and will remain the principal surface combatant of the US Navy for decades to come.
In this video, we'll look at the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers amazing weapons systems.
While classified as destroyers, the newest Arleigh Burke-class ships will be about as heavy as a Ticonderoga-class cruiser — the main distinction between the two is that Ticonderoga-class cruisers have 26 more missiles cells as well as extra facilities to serve as air defense control centers, while the newest Arleigh Burke-class ships feature superior radars and electronics.
Arleigh Burke-class destroyers were produced from 1988-2011 and from 2013 onwards. The class was originally to be replaced by the Zumwalt-class destroyer, but those plans were scrapped in light of the Zumwalt class’s hefty price tag and other shortcomings.
There are four main Burke variants, or Flights: Flight I (DDG-51 to DDG-71), Flight II (DDG-72 to DDG-78), Flight IIA (DDG-79 to DDG-123), and Flight III (DDG-124+).
None of the Arleigh Burkes produced have been sold or decommissioned. The cost of a new Flight IIA Arleigh Burke is almost $1.9 billion dollars. Flight III ships will likely top $2 billion.
A subset of Arleigh Burke-class destroyers have been upgraded with ballistic missile defense capabilities, a modification known as Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (Aegis BMD). All Flight I and Flight II ships have been retrofitted with Aegis BMD, in addition to Flight IIA ships DDG-113 and onward, which are built with Aegis BMD as standard. The remainder of the Flight IIA ships will receive Aegis BMD in the future.
Both Japan (Kongo and Atago classes) and South Korea (Sejong the Great class) operate large Aegis destroyers based on the Arleigh Burke design.
Armament
Missiles
The Arleigh Burke class launches most of its missiles from Mark 41 Vertical Launch System (VLS)modules. The Mk 41 fires straight upwards from cells below the ship’s deck, with no need to load or aim a launcher. As such, the system responds quickly and can fire its missiles in rapid succession. Flight I and II ships have 90 VLS cells, while Flight IIA and III ships have 96. This is a remarkably large missile capacity, even relative to the Burke class’s heavy displacement. Each cell can accommodate one of the following missiles:
The RIM-161 Standard Missile-3 (SM-3)is designed to intercept ballistic missiles in outer space. With a maximum range of about 378 nmi for the current variants and 1350 nmi for the future Block IIA, the SM-3 is one of the highest-performance ballistic missile interceptors in service worldwide. The SM-3 delivers a separating kinetic “kill vehicle,” which is guided by an infrared seeker. Rather than using explosives, the kill vehicle simply collides with the target at high speed, destroying it with the sheer force of the impact. The kill vehicle is only designed for use against ballistic missiles outside the atmosphere, and is of no use against airplanes or cruise missiles — as such, only Aegis BMD ships carry the SM-3.
The RIM-67 Standard Missile-2 (SM-2) is the US Navy’s primary air defense missile. It has a blast fragmentation warhead and a purported maximum range of 90 nmi. Guidance is provided by inertial positioning and datalink updates until a few seconds before impact, when the AN/SPG-62 radar (see radars section) is used to illuminate the target with precision. This guidance method is known as semi-active radar homing. Some SM-2s are also equipped with infrared seekers. The SM-2 is used primarily against cruise missiles and airplanes, although it can also strike ships if necessary. A small number of upgraded RIM-156 SM-2 Block IV missiles were produced as well, incorporating extended range and ballistic missile interception capabilities.
The RIM-174 Standard Missile-6 (SM-6) is based on the SM-2 Block IV but features an exceptional maximum range of about 270 nmi. Because the AN/SPG-62 guidance radar cannot be used at such great distance, the SM-6 has its own active radar seeker (adapted from the AIM-120 AMRAAM) for finding targets. The SM-6 can be used against cruise missiles, airplanes, and ships.

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"Beauty Flow" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

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