Arleigh burke - CLASS

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.

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. The unique design-engineering approach injected fleet input into the development process before construction began and shaped every element of the ships’ systems and spaces to meet future requirements. Each LPD consists of 210 units built utilizing modular construction techniques. Each unit is extensively pre-outfitted with piping, electrical, machinery and ventilation systems along with many pieces of equipment prior to launch.

Ingalls has delivered 35 Arleigh Burke – Class destroyers to the U.S. Navy: