Arleigh Burke

The backbone of the U.S. surface fleet — a 9,500-ton multirole Aegis destroyer with 96 vertical launch cells, evolving from the SPY-1 to the SPY-6 radar, and the platform that fought the heaviest air-defense battles since World War II in the Red Sea.

Overview

The Arleigh Burke-class (DDG-51) is the U.S. Navy's principal guided-missile destroyer, built to a multirole design that centers on area air defense, ballistic missile defense, land-attack, anti-submarine warfare, and anti-surface warfare. First commissioned in 1991, the class has been produced in successive flights — each adding capability — and remains in serial construction at two yards. As of March 2025, 74 hulls had been delivered, with a planned total approaching 90, according to Naval Technology. No other Western surface combatant has matched its combination of magazine depth, sensor integration, and sustained combat exposure.

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