Arleigh Burke class AEGIS Destroyers
This class of ships is named for the US Navy's most famous destroyer squadron combat commander - and three-time Chief of Naval Operations - ADM Arleigh Burke. He was present for the chistening in Bath and when the ship bearing his name, DDG 51, was commissioned on July 4, 1991. BIW is the lead yard for the program, widely recognized as the most successful surface shipbuilding program of post-WW2 years. Since then, 60 ships have been built, 31 of them at the Maine yard. 
The DDG 51 multi-mission guided missile destroyer operates in support of carrier battle groups, surface action groups, amphibious groups and replenishment groups, providing a complete array of anti-submarine (ASW), anti-air (AAW) and anti-surface (SuW) capabilities.
The ship's combat capabilities center around the AEGIS combat system, the SPY-1D, multi-function, phased-array radar and the Mk-41 Vertical Launch System, which has expanded the role of the destroyer in strike warfare. Designed for survivability, the ship incorporates all-steel construction and, like most modern U.S. surface combatants has gas turbine propulsion. The combination of the AEGIS combat system, the Vertical Launching System, an advanced anti-submarine warfare system, two embarked SH-60 helicopters, advanced anti-aircraft missiles and Tomahawk ASM/LAM (anti-ship & land-attack missiles), the Arleigh Burke class is the most powerful surface combatant ever put to sea.
DDG 51 Characteristics (Flight IIA ships)
| Metric | Details |
|---|---|
| Length Over All | 510 feet (156 meters) |
| Beam-Waterline | 59 feet (18 meters) |
| Displacement-Full Load | 9,217 tons (9,365 metric tons) |
| Power Plant | Four General Electric LM 2500-30 gas turbines; two shafts; two CRP propellers; 100,000 total shaft horsepower. |
| Speed | in excess of 30 knots |
| Crew | 380 Total (32 Officers; 27 CPO; 321 OEM) |
| Surveillance | SPY-1D Phased Array Radar and Aegis Combat System (Lockheed Martin) |
| Aircraft | Two embarked SH-60 helicopters (ASW operations); RAST |
| Armament | Two Mk 41 Vertical Launchers (VLS) with Standard, Vertical Launch ASROC & Tomahawk ASM/LAM missiles; 5"/54 Mk-45 gun; two CIWS; six Mk-46 torpedoes |
Flight IIA ships started with USS Oscar Austin DDG 79). US Navy requirements during this phase of the program have involved various modifications to secondary armaments - some ships have one or no CIWS - others have a storage/launch facility for a minehunting USV.
Zumwalt Class Destroyers
DDG 1000 is the first of a new class of warships in the US Navy's revolutionary vision for 21st Century surface combatant designs. A changing global political landscape, coupled with budget and manpower realities, demands sweeping changes ; DDG 1000 will take these concepts from vision to reality in the next few years.
The ship is designed as a multi-mission destroyer able to provide independent forward presence and deterrence or operate as an integral part of a Joint or Multi-national naval task force. Primary mission emphasis on Land Attack, Maritime Dominance and Joint Interoperability will enable DDG 1000 to control the littoral battlespace and deliver more ordnance on target over a broader range of military objectives than any surface combatant ever put to sea.
The success of the DDG 1000 Program is vital to our Nation's ability to deploy and sustain an effective, affordable worldwide naval surface force. Key program features include:
- Extending DDG 1000 technology/systems developments to other ships of US Navy Fleet
- Enabling capable and affordable future US Navy force levels
- Driving fundamental US Navy cultural changes
- Achieving maritime dominance goals with a renewed focus on littoral capability
DDG 1000 introduces a wide range of new technologies that will generate tangible breakthroughs in performance and affordability. Advances such as Electric Drive/Integrated Power Systems, ship control and damage control automation, a totally integrated, ship-wide command & control system, and low-observable topside designs are potentially applicable to other shipbuilding programs, thereby offering the Navy exceptional return on investment.
DDG 1000 is a stealthy ship with a minimal radar signature and an intrinsically quiet tumblehome hull form and wave-piercing bow. Dual (X- and S-) band radars are part of the concept, giving the ship enhanced detection and interception abilities in the characteristic radar 'ground clutter' of littoral theaters. Generating far more power than the DDG 51 ships, DDG 1000 is suitable for future deployment of directed energy beam weapons and the electromagnetic railgun.
Full scale production of the first of the class, Zumwalt, began on February 11, 2009. Working with engineers at other defense firms nationwide, the design of DDG 1000 is highly evolved. Interactive 3D design - a feature extending to the assembly floor - has reached an unprecedented level of detail.
GD Littoral Combat Ship
The Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) is a key element of US Navy plans to address asymmetric threats. It is intended to operate in coastal areas around the globe, and is fast, highly maneuverable and tailored to supporting mine detection/elimination, anti-submarine warfare and surface warfare, particularly against small surface craft.
General Dynamics began studying concepts for the ship in November 2002, as the Focused Mission High Speed Ship (FMHSS). Proposals were submitted for a seven-month preliminary design phase. Three awards were made in mid-July 2003, one to General Dynamics.
In May 2004, the Navy announced that the General Dynamics Team would continue development of its proposed solution. Following detailed design, the GD team began construction of its first ship of the type, with a keel-laying in January 2006.
Named Independence (LCS 2) was floated off on April 2008, christening on October 4, 2008, and is scheduled for delivery to the Navy in 2009. Builder's trials of the ship commenced in June 2009. The Navy ultimately contemplates a fleet of 55 LCS ships.
The General Dynamics design features an innovative trimaran hull that enables the ship to reach sustainable speeds of over 45 knots and range as far as 10,000 nautical miles with an unmatched interior volume and payload.
A key feature of the ship is its huge aviation deck, larger than any vessel remotely close to it in size. The ship is designed to allow a crew of fewer than 40 sailors to fully operate, maintain and defend it.
Key characteristics of the General Dynamics ship:
- Capable of supporting several missions simultaneously.
- Open-architecture information systems enabling over-the-horizon surveillance and reconnaissance, global networking and coordinated air, surface and undersea tactical picture.
- Incorporation of stealth technologies increases ship and crew survivability.
- Shallow draft allowing operations near the shore.
- More payload per ton of displacement than any previous US warship.
- Huge interior volume delivers enhanced mission capabilities and endurance.
- Supports concurrent and simultaneous operation of two large (H-60) helicopters.
General Dynamics Bath Iron Works is the prime contractor for the program. Austal USA (Mobile, AL), provided support for final design efforts on the team's aluminum and steel trimaran warship. The first ship is being built at the Mobile yard.
General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems ( Arlington, VA) is leading the ship's open-architecture based Core Mission System design and integration from its Pittsfield, MA facility.
Other team members include CAE (Leesburg, VA); BAE Systems (Rockville, MD); Maritime Applied Physics Corporation (Baltimore, MD); Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems (Baltimore, (MD); and three other General Dynamics companies: Armament & Technical Products (Burlington, VT), GD Electric Boat (Groton, CT) and General Dynamics Canada (Ottawa, ON).
Click here for additional information on the General Dynamics Team Design
The GDLCS has its own website with further details of the program, a gallery of photos, and other useful material. It can be found here, at GDLCS.com.