DDG 51 destroyers provide multi-mission capabilities, operating independently or as part of carrier strike groups, surface action groups, amphibious ready groups and replenishment groups. Aegis guided missile destroyers are multi-mission surface combatants, capable of engaging targets on, above and below the surface. New ships in this class have anti-ballistic missile capabilities as well. The DDG’s all-steel construction provides a survivable platform. Ingalls shipbuilders incorporate lessons learned from previous ships to improve safety, quality cost and schedule requirements.
DDG Facts
A DDG is 509 feet long with a 66-foot beam. It weighs 9,300 tons and takes approximately four years to build. DDG class ships provide multi-mission offensive and defensive capabilities and can operate independently or as part of carrier strike groups, surface action groups, amphibious ready groups and underway replenishment groups. They have a crew of more than 350 sailors.
A DDG Aegis guided missile destroyer is equipped with:
- 2 MK 41 vertical launching systems
- 1 5-inch gun turret
- 2 MK 32 triple-barrel torpedo mounts
- Advanced radar and sonar systems that allow it to engage targets in the air, on the sea and underwater.
- Four gas turbine engines that can reach a maximum speed of more than 30 knots.
Design & Construction
The Arleigh Burke class destroyers are the US Navy’s most powerful destroyer fleet. These highly-capable, multi-mission ships conduct a variety of operations, from peacetime presence to national security.
The DDG 51 Class design is captured in a three-dimensional model and interfaced with the Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM) systems, in which numerically-controlled manufacturing equipment cut plate and bend pipe. Ingalls Shipbuilding uses modular construction techniques pioneered by the shipyard in the 1970s and refined over the years to maximize shipyard throughput. During the construction of a DDG 51 destroyer, 72 structural assemblies (units) are integrated, forming 21 grand blocks. These grand blocks are integrated, creating the ship’s hull modules 1, 2 and 3. The deckhouse is landed (module 4), piping systems installed, cable routed, equipment connected and systems readied for test. The ship is moved to a drydock and launched in a 12-hour time period. Final outfitting and test is completed pier side.
Arleigh Burke class destroyers include 322 miles of cable, 185,000 feet of pipe and enough hull insulation (450,000 square feet) to cover the roof of the Superdome in New Orleans. Armor is placed around vital combat systems and machinery spaces. Acoustic, infrared and radar signatures have been reduced, and vital shipboard systems are hardened against electromagnetic pulse and over-pressure damage. In addition, a Collective Protection System guards against nuclear, chemical and biological agents.
Delivered Ships
Ingalls has delivered 32 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers to the U.S. Navy:
USS Barry (DDG 52) | 10/19/1992 |
USS Mitscher (DDG 57) | 3/7/1994 |
USS Stout (DDG 55) | 3/25/1994 |
USS Russell (DDG 59) | 11/14/1994 |
USS Ramage (DDG 61) | 3/18/1995 |
USS Stethem (DDG 63) | 7/17/1995 |
USS Benfold (DDG 65) | 11/30/1995 |
USS Cole (DDG 67) | 5/6/1996 |
USS Milius (DDG 69) | 10/14/1996 |
USS Ross (DDG 71) | 6/20/1997 |
USS McFaul (DDG 74) | 3/13/1998 |
USS Porter (DDG 78) | 1/11/1999 |
USS Roosevelt (DDG 80) | 6/12/2000 |
USS Lassen (DDG 82) | 2/5/2001 |
USS Bulkeley (DDG 84) | 8/20/2001 |
USS Shoup (DDG 86) | 2/19/2002 |
USS Preble (DDG 88) | 8/12/2002 |
USS Mustin (DDG 89) | 2/28/2003 |
USS Pinckney (DDG 91) | 10/27/2003 |
USS Chung-Hoon (DDG 93) | 3/22/2004 |
USS James E. Williams (DDG 95) | 8/23/2004 |
USS Halsey (DDG 97) | 1/31/2005 |
USS Forrest Sherman (DDG 98) | 8/8/2005 |
USS Kidd (DDG 100) | 12/22/2006 |
USS Truxton (DDG 103) | 10/24/2008 |
USS Dewey (DDG 105) | 8/17/2009 |
USS Gravely (DDG 107) | 7/20/2010 |
USS William P. Lawrence (DDG 110) | 2/24/2011 |
USS John Finn (DDG 113) | 12/7/2016 |
USS Ralph Johnson (DDG 114) | 11/15/2017 |
USS Paul Ignatius (DDG 117) | 2/22/2019 |
USS Delbert D. Black (DDG 119) | 4/24/2020 |