USS Arleigh Burke

Type

Destroyer

Period

20th Century

Nation

United States

Overview: USS Arleigh Burke (DDG-51) is the lead ship of the U.S. Navy's Arleigh Burke-class Aegis guided-missile destroyers, the most numerous class of surface combatant in modern U.S. Navy history. She is named for Admiral Arleigh A. Burke, a celebrated World War II destroyer squadron commander and later Chief of Naval Operations, who attended her commissioning in person. Specifications: As built, the ship has a light displacement of roughly 6,800 long tons and a full-load displacement near 8,900 long tons, with a length of 505 ft (154 m), beam of 59 ft (18 m), and draft of 31 ft (9.4 m). She is powered by four General Electric LM2500-30 gas turbines driving two shafts for over 30 knots, and her armament centers on the Aegis Combat System with a 90-cell Mk 41 Vertical Launching System firing SM-2/SM-3/SM-6 family missiles and Tomahawk cruise missiles, plus a 5-inch Mk 45 gun, Phalanx CIWS, Harpoon launchers, and Mk 32 torpedo tubes; she also embarks an MH-60R helicopter. Service History: Built by Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine, she was laid down 6 December 1988, launched 16 September 1989, and commissioned 4 July 1991 in Norfolk, Virginia. As the Flight I lead ship she set the pattern for dozens of subsequent Arleigh Burke-class hulls and has served for decades as a first-line Atlantic Fleet destroyer, including duty out of her current homeport at Naval Station Rota, Spain. Notable Facts: Originally given a planned 35-year service life expiring around FY2026, the Navy approved a five-year service life extension for Arleigh Burke, carrying her through FY2031, reflecting the enduring success of the DDG-51 program. As the class namesake and pattern ship, she remains a benchmark subject for modelers of modern U.S. Navy Aegis destroyers, with numerous injection-molded and resin kits available in various scales.