The Arleigh Burke class of guided missile destroyers (DDGs) is a United States Navy class of destroyer built around the Aegis Combat System and the SPY-1D multi-function passive electronically scanned array radar. The class is named for Admiral Arleigh Burke, an American destroyer officer in World War II, and later Chief of Naval Operations. The lead ship, USS Arleigh Burke, was commissioned during Admiral Burke's lifetime.

These warships were designed as multi-mission destroyers,[5] able to fulfill the strategic land strike role with Tomahawk missiles; anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) role with powerful Aegis radar and surface-to-air missiles; anti-submarine warfare (ASW) with towed sonar array, anti-submarine rockets, and ASW helicopter; and anti-surface warfare (ASuW) with Harpoon missile launcher. With upgrades to their AN/SPY-1 phased radar systems and their associated missile payloads as part of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System, the ships of this class have also begun to demonstrate some promise as mobile anti-ballistic missile and anti-satellite weaponry platforms, operating on 15 ships as of March 2009.[8] Some versions of the class no longer have the towed sonar, or Harpoon missile launcher. Their hull and superstructure were designed to have a reduced radar cross-section.[9]

The first ship of the class was commissioned on 4 July 1991. With the decommissioning of the last Spruance-class destroyer, USS Cushing, on 21 September 2005, the Arleigh Burke-class ships became the U.S. Navy's only active destroyers, until the Zumwalt class became active in 2016. The Arleigh Burke class has the longest production run for any post-World War II U.S. Navy surface combatant.[10] Besides the 62 vessels of this class (comprising 21 of Flight I, 7 of Flight II and 34 of Flight IIA) in service by 2016, up to a further 42 (of Flight III) have been envisioned.

With an overall length of 505 to 509.5 feet (153.9 to 155.3 m), displacement ranging from 8,230 to 9,700 tons, and weaponry including over 90 missiles, the Arleigh Burke class are larger and more heavily armed than most previous ships classified as guided missile cruisers.[3][11]Armament
Guns:DDG-51 to 80: 1 × 5-inch (127 mm)/54 Mk. 45 Mod 1/2 (lightweight gun)DDG-81 onwards: 1 × 5-inch (127 mm)/62 Mk. 45 Mod 4 (lightweight gun)DDG-51 to 84: 2 × 20 mm Phalanx CIWSDDG-85 onwards: 1 × 20 mm Phalanx CIWS2 × 25 mm M242 Bushmaster chain gunMissiles:2 × Mk 141 Harpoon Anti-Ship Missile Launcher (Flight I & II only)[6]Flights I & II: 90-cell Mk 41 Vertical Launching System (VLS)Flight IIA onward: 96-cell Mk. 41 Vertical Launching System (VLS)BGM-109 Tomahawk Land Attack MissileRIM-66M Surface-to-Air Missile with an ASuW mode[7]RIM-161 Anti-Ballistic MissileRIM-162 ESSM quadpacked configuration (DDG-79 onward)RUM-139 Vertical Launch ASROCRIM-174A Standard ERAMTorpedoes:2 × Mark 32 triple torpedo tubes:Mark 46 torpedoMark 50 torpedoMark 54 Lightweight TorpedoAircraft carried
Flights I and II: NoneFlight IIA onwards: up to two MH-60R Seahawk LAMPS III helicopters