Arleigh Burke flight IIii is a highly advanced guided missile destroyer in the navy. It is designed to perform a wide range of naval tasks, from anti-submarine warfare and land attack to ballistic missile defense. The class is built with a combination of ship-to-ship and ship-to-air combat systems, including the latest anti-submarine combat system and an advanced towed sonar array, as well as ship-to-ship and air-launched cruise missiles.
Arleigh burke flight iii is one of the most important and influential ships in the naval fleet. This ship was the first to receive the Aegis Baseline 9 combat systems. This upgraded system is a significant improvement on the existing Aegis systems. It can perform Anti-Air Warfare and Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) functions.
It is equipped with an AN/SPY-6V radar, which provides a significantly increased capability. It allows Flight III ships the ability to simultaneously perform AAW and BMD. This fulfills the need for enhanced surface combatant Integrated Air and Missile Defense capabilities (IAMD).
The Arleigh Burke class ships are currently being modernized to extend their service life. They have been in service almost 30 years. A hybrid-electric drive is being installed on the vessels to reduce fuel consumption and increase operational time by 2.5 days before they need to refuel.
A new missile defense system has also been installed on the Arleigh Burkes, the BAE Systems Australia mk53 Nulka active missile decoy system which uses hovering rockets to deflect incoming missiles. The system will also be installed on 33 additional Arleigh Burke vessels and some USN cruisers as well as land-based patrol ships.
Additionally to these systems, the ships were modernised with an enhanced flight deck and an Evolved Sea Sparrow ballistic missile. A Kingfisher mine detection sonar device was also added. The ship also has Kollmorgen optronics for close-in aerial contacts. Aegis antisubmarine radar, the most recent version, has been fitted to the ships.
These ships are among the most advanced in the US Navy and have been in service for more than 30 years. They are used to support maritime security operations, theater security cooperation and anti-submarine warfare missions in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility.
It can carry multiple-mission destroyers, including ship-to-ship, air-launched and land-attack cruise missiles. It can also be used as a mobile command center, supporting aircraft.
Some Arleigh Burke destroyers also have a Phalanx Cannon Based CIWS defense system. This is an airborne machine guns system that can be used for shooting down aircraft within the airframe. The system can fire at up to 20 targets per second and can shoot in all directions.
The Arleigh-Burke class was originally meant to be replaced with Zumwalt's destroyers. However, there is a growing threat from both long- and short range missiles. It has become imperative that the ships continue to serve their purpose. The ships will be updated to have the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMD) capability which is a vital part of the class's role in the Navy.