Expect More Arleigh Burke Destroyers For The US Navy

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National Interest: The Navy Loves Its Arleigh Burke Destroyers  

The Arleigh Burke-class vessels are larger, and with weaponry including more than ninety missiles, are also more heavily armed than most previous ships classified as guided missile cruisers. 

First entering service thirty years ago in 1991, the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers (DDGs) have the distinction of having the longest production run for any post–World War II U.S. Navy surface combatant. 

Sixty-eight of the warships have been completed and are in active service while seven are currently under construction with another three on order. 

As of April of last year, the Navy has announced plans to build a total of eighty-nine of the warships, and since the decommissioning of the last Spruance-class destroyer, USS Cushing (DD-985), on September 21, 2005—the Arleigh Burke-class were the only active U.S. Navy destroyers until USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000) entered service in October 2016.  

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WNU Editor: With no new purchases of the Zumwalt class and no new viable destroyer for the future, I expect more of these destroyers to be ordered in the future.