Spruance Class Destroyers

The Spruance-class destroyer was developed by the United States to replace a large number of World War II-built Allen M. Sumner- and Gearing-class destroyers, and was the primary destroyer built for the U.S. Navy during the 1970s.

Serving for three decades, the Spruance class was designed to escort a carrier group with a primary antisubmarine warfare mission. First commissioned in 1975, the class was designed with gas-turbine propulsion, all-digital weapons systems, automated 5-inch guns and Tomahawk cruise missiles. Rather than extend the life of the class, the Navy opted to accelerate its retirement. The last ship of the class was decommissioned in 2005, with most examples broken up or destroyed as targets.

Class

The class was designed for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) with point defense anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) missiles; upgrades provided anti-ship and land attack capabilities. The ships were initially controversial, especially among members of the United States Congress who believed that their unimposing looks, with only two guns and an ASROC or Armored Box Launcher (ABL) missile launcher per ship implied that the vessels were weak compared to Soviet or older US designs which had more visible guns or launchers for the Standard medium range missiles. Late updates would include launchers for the Tomahawk surface-to-surface missile. They were successful for their intended ASW roles, but lacked stealth and missile capabilities of later Aegis equipped destroyers.

Despite their "DD" designation indicating gun destroyers, their primary armament was the missiles they carried, and arguably they should have been designated DDG (or perhaps CG, given that they were comparable in size to cruisers) under the US Navy's hull classification symbol system.

The "Spru-cans" were the first large U.S. Navy ships to use gas turbine propulsion; they have four General Electric LM2500 gas turbines to generate about 80,000 horsepower (60 MW). This configuration (developed in the 1960s by the Royal Navy and known as COmbined Gas And Gas, or COGAG) was so successful that its hull and physical plant were used for the later Kidd-class destroyers. A slightly lengthened version of the hull was also used for the Ticonderoga-class cruisers.

As of 2010, all US Navy surface combatants (except LCS-1) use the LM2500 COGAG arrangement, usually with two such turbines per shaft.

The entire class of 30 ships was contracted on June 23, 1970 to the Litton-Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi, under the Total Package Procurement concept originated by the Whiz Kids of Robert McNamara's Pentagon. The idea was to reap the benefits of mass construction, but labor and technical problems caused cost overruns and delayed construction. One additional ship, USS Hayler, was ordered on September 29, 1979. Hayler was originally planned as a DDH (Destroyer, Helicopter) design, which would carry more Anti-Submarine helicopters than the standard design of the Spruance class. Eventually this plan to build a DDH was scrapped and a slightly modified DD-963 class hull was put in commission. Four additional ships were built for the Iranian Navy with the Mark 26/Standard AAW missile system but were completed as Kidds for the U.S. Navy.

An air capable mini STOVL aircraft carrier with fighters and ASW helicopters based on the Spruance hull was seriously considered but the Navy never took delivery.

Upgrades

The Spruance design is modular in nature, allowing for easy installation of entire subsystems within the ship. Although originally designed for anti-submarine warfare, 24 ships of this class were upgraded with the installation of a 61 cell Vertical Launch Missile System (VLS) capable of launching Tomahawk missiles. The remaining seven ships not upgraded were decommissioned early. At least ten VLS ships, including Cushing, O'Bannon, and Thorn, had a 21 cell RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile launcher mounted on the starboard fantail.

• David R. Ray tested the RAM system in the 1980s, but had the system removed after the tests.
• Oldendorf was the test platform for the AN/SPQ-9B Anti-ship Missile Defense (ASMD) Firecontrol Radar to be outfitted on the San Antonio class amphibious transport dock. The AN/SPQ-9B is used to detect all known and projected sea skimming missiles.
• Arthur W. Radford tested the Advanced Enclosed Mast/Sensor system which helped in the mast design of San Antonio class amphibious transport dock ships.
• Merrill served as the Navy's test platform for the Tomahawk Cruise Missile Program receiving armored box launchers and test launching a Tomahawk March 19, 1980. Merrill carried two ABLs and an ASROC launcher into the 1990s until the ASROC launcher was removed.

Spruance class destroyers fired 112 land attack Tomahawks during Operation Desert Storm.

Fate

The US Navy planned to replace its current destroyers and cruisers with the new Zumwalt class destroyer The last Spruance-class destroyer on active service, USS Cushing, was decommissioned on September 21, 2005. It was then offered to the Pakistan Navy, but was sunk as a target 29 April 2009. Per the 2010 U.S. Defense budget, three DDG-1000s are being built, and the stealth-designed and standard missile equipped Arleigh Burke class is the Navy's only operational class of destroyers. (DDG-1000) ships. In order to save $28 million a year the Navy accelerated retirement of the ships, though they could have served to 2019 if they had been maintained and updated.

Some were broken up, but rather than being preserved in storage like some older classes, the majority of the class finished their lives as targets. Most were deliberately sunk in various fleet exercises.

The USS Paul F. Foster replaced the USS Decatur in 2005 as the Self Defense Test Ship. It is a refurbished ship, operated by remote control which avoids the safety constraints and other problems associated with manned ships being targeted by or towing targets by live weapons. The prearranged attack is in practice aimed at a decoy barge pulled 150 feet behind the SDTS in case of damage.

 

Ships of the class

Ship Name		Hull No		Service
Spruance		DD-963		1975-2005
Paul F. Foster		DD-964		1976-2003
Kinkaid		DD-965		1976-2003
Hewitt		DD-966		1976-2001
Elliot		DD-967		1977-2003
Arthur W. Radford		DD-968		1977-2003
Peterson		DD-969		1977-2002
Caron		DD-970		1977-2001
David R. Ray		DD-971		1977-2002
Oldendorf		DD-972		1978-2003
John Young		DD-973		1978-2002
Comte de Grasse		DD-974		1978-1998
O'Brien		DD-975		1977-2004
Merrill		DD-976		1978-1998
Briscoe		DD-977		1978-2003
Stump		DD-978		1978-2004
Conolly		DD-979		1978-1998
Moosbrugger		DD-980		1978-2000
John Hancock		DD-981		1978-2000
Nicholson		DD-982		1979-2002
John Rodgers		DD-983		1979-1998
Leftwich		DD-984		1979-1998
Cushing		DD-985		1979-2005
Harry W. Hill		DD-986		1979-1998
O'Bannon		DD-987		1979-2005
Thorn		DD-988		1980-2004
Deyo		DD-989		1980-2003
Ingersoll		DD-990		1980-1998
Fife		DD-991		1980-2003
Fletcher		DD-992		1980-2004
Hayler		DD-997		1983-2003

USS Sprance (DD-963) is seen here alongside Faslane

Inside the USS Roosevelt (DDG 80) at Faslane

Departing Faslane

Los Angeles Class Submarine

The Los Angeles class, sometimes called the LA class or the 688 class, is a class of nuclear-powered fast attack submarines (SSN) that forms the backbone of the United States submarine fleet. With 45 submarines on active-duty (and 17 retired), this class has more boats than any other nuclear powered submarine class in the world. The class was preceded by the Sturgeon class and followed by the Seawolf and Virginia classes. Except for USS Hyman G. Rickover (SSN-709), submarines of this class are named after US cities, breaking a long-standing Navy tradition of naming attack submarines after sea creatures.

The final 23 boats in the series, referred to as "688i" boats, are quieter than their predecessors and incorporate a more advanced combat system. These 688i boats are also designed for under-ice operations: their diving planes are on the bow rather than on the sail, and they have reinforced sails.

Capabilities

According to the U.S. government, the top speed of Los Angeles-class submarines is over 25 knots (46 km/h, 29 mph) and the precise speed is classified. Some estimates put the top speed at 30–33 knots.  

Submarine: A Guided Tour Inside a Nuclear Warship, puts the top speed of a Los Angeles class submarine at 37 knots. Tom Clancy, in his book

Similarly, government sources give the maximum operating depth as 650 feet (200 m), while Patrick Tyler, in his book Running Critical, suggests a maximum operating depth of 950 feet (290 m). Although Tyler cites the 688-class design committee for this figure, the government has not commented on it. The maximum diving depth is 1,475 feet (450 m) according to Jane's Fighting Ships, 2004-2005 Edition, edited by Commodore Stephen Saunders of Royal Navy.

Weapons and fire control systems

Los Angeles class submarines carry about 25 torpedo-tube-launched weapons and all boats of the class are capable of launching Tomahawk cruise missiles horizontally (from the torpedo tubes). The last 31 boats of this class also have 12 dedicated vertical launch (VLS) tubes for launching Tomahawks.

Engineering and auxiliary systems

There are two watertight compartments in the Los Angeles class of submarines. The forward compartment contains crew living spaces, weapons handling spaces and control spaces not critical to recovering propulsion. The aft compartment contains the bulk of the ship's engineering systems, power generation turbines and water making equipment. Some submarines in the class are capable of delivering SEALs through either the Dry Deck Shelter (DDS) system or the Advanced SEAL Delivery System (ASDS). A variety of atmospheric control devices are used to remain submerged for long periods of time without ventilating, including an Electrolytic Oxygen Generator (EOG) nicknamed "the bomb".

While on the surface or at snorkel depth the submarine may use the ship's auxiliary or emergency diesel generator for power or ventilation (e.g., following a fire). The diesel engine in a 688 class can be quickly started by compressed air during emergencies or to evacuate noxious (non-volatile) gases from the boat, although 'ventilation' requires raising of a snorkel mast. During non-emergency situations, design constraints require operators to allow the engine to reach normal operating temperatures before it is capable of producing full power, a process that may take from 20 to 30 minutes. However, the diesel generator can be immediately loaded to 100% power output, despite design criteria cautions, at the discretion of the submarine commander via the recommendation of the ship's Engineer, if necessity dictates such actions to a) restore electrical power to the ship, b) prevent a reactor incident from occurring or escalating, or c) to protect the lives of the crew or others as determined necessary by the commanding officer.

Normally, steam power is generated by the ship's nuclear reactor delivering pressurized hot water to the steam generator, which generates steam to drive the steam driven turbines and generators. While the emergency diesel generator is starting up, power can be provided from the ship's battery through the Ship Service Motor Generators (SSMGs). Likewise, propulsion is normally delivered through the ship's steam driven main turbines that drive the ship's propeller through a reduction gear system. The ship has no main shaft conventional engines.

In the media

Los Angeles-class submarines have also been featured prominently in numerous Tom Clancy novels and film adaptations, most notably the USS Dallas (SSN-700) in The Hunt for Red October.  In the film Terminator Salvation, Resistance Headquarters is located aboard a Los Angeles-class submarine, according to the novelization and several behind-the-scenes books. The class has also been the subject of video games and simulations, such as Electronic Arts' 1997 release, 688(i) Hunter/Killer.

Ships of the class

Ship Name	Hull No	Service
Los Angeles	688	1976–2010
Baton Rouge	689	1977–1995
Philadelphia	690	1977–2010
Memphis	691	1977–
Omaha	692	1978–1995
Cincinnati	693	1978–1995
Groton	694	1978–1997
Birmingham	695	1978–1997
New York City	696	1979–1997
Indianapolis	697	1980–1998
Bremerton	698	1981–
Jacksonville	699	1981–
Dallas	700	1981–
La Jolla	701	1981–
Phoenix	702	1981–1998
Boston	703	1982–1999
Baltimore	704	1982–1998
City of Corpus Christi	705	1983–
Albuquerque	706	1983–
Portsmouth	707	1983–2005
Minneapolis-Saint Paul	708	1984–2007
Hyman G. Rickover	709	1984–2007
Augusta	710	1985–2008
San Francisco	711	1981–
Atlanta	712	1982–1999
Houston	713	1982–
Norfolk	714	1983–
Buffalo	715	1983–
Salt Lake City	716	1984–2006
Olympia	717	1984–
Honolulu	718	1985–2007
Providence	719	1985–
Pittsburgh	720	1985–
Chicago	721	1986–
Key West	722	1987–
Oklahoma City	723	1988–
Louisville	724	1986–
Helena	725	1987–
Newport News	750	1989–
San Juan	751	1988–
Pasadena	752	1989–
Albany	753	1990–
Topeka	754	1989–
Miami	755	1990–
Scranton	756	1991–
Alexandria	757	1991–
Asheville	758	1991–
Jefferson City	759	1992–
Annapolis	760	1992–
Springfield	761	1993–
Columbus	762	1993–
Santa Fe	763	1994–
Boise	764	1992–
Montpelier	765	1993–
Charlotte	766	1994–
Hampton	767	1993–
Hartford	768	1994–
Toledo	769	1995–
Tucson	770	1995–
Columbia	771	1995–
Greeneville	772	1996–
Cheyenne	773	1996–

USS Miami is seen here departing Faslane

Arleigh Burke Class Destroyers

The Arleigh Burke class of guided missile destroyers (DDGs) is the first destroyer of the United States Navy built around the Aegis combat system and the SPY-1D multi-function phased array radar. The first ship was commissioned on 4 July 1991. After the decommissioning of the last Spruance-class destroyer, USS Cushing, on September 21, 2005, the Arleigh Burke class ships became the U.S. Navy's only active destroyers and the class has the longest production run for any US Navy surface combatant.
The class is named for Admiral Arleigh "31-Knot" Burke, the most famous American destroyer officer of World War II. Admiral Burke was alive when the class leader was commissioned.

The Arleigh Burke class are among the most powerful destroyers ever built in the United States. Only the Spruance class destroyers were larger (563 feet). The Burke class destroyers are more heavily armed than previous guided-missile destroyers. However it is important to remember that the mission of the Burke class is significantly different than the Spruance class. The larger Ticonderoga class ships were constructed on Spruance class hullforms, but are designated as cruisers due to their radically different mission and weapons systems.

The Arleigh Burke's designers incorporated lessons learned from the Ticonderoga class guided-missile cruisers. The Ticonderoga class cruisers were supposedly becoming too expensive to continue building, and too difficult to upgrade. Visually, the angled rather than traditional vertical surfaces and the tripod mainmast of the Arleigh Burke design are part of "stealth" technologies, which improve the ship's ability to evade and/or destroy anti-ship cruise missiles.
 

With the Arleigh Burke class, the US Navy returned to traditional all-steel construction. Combining a steel hull with an aluminum superstructure had been an innovation to reduce topweight, but the lighter metal proved vulnerable to cracking. Aluminum is also less fire-resistant than steel. A 1975 fire aboard USS Belknap gutted her aluminum superstructure. Later battle damage to Royal Navy ships during the Falklands War supported the decision to employ a steel superstructure.

A Collective Protection System makes the Arleigh Burke class the first U.S. warships designed with an air-filtration system against nuclear, biological and chemical warfare.

So vital has the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMD) role of the class become that all ships of the class are being updated with BMD capability. Production of Burkes is being restarted in place of the Zumwalt class destroyers.

Development

In 1980 the US Navy initiated design studies with seven contractors. By 1983 the number of competitors had been reduced to three; Bath Iron Works, Todd Shipyards and Ingalls Shipbuilding. On 3 April 1985 Bath Iron Works received a US$321.9 million contract to build the first of class, USS Arleigh Burke. Gibbs & Cox was awarded the contract to be the lead ship design agent. The total cost of the first ship was put at US$1.1 billion, the other US$778 million being for the ship's weapons systems.  She was laid down by the Bath Iron Works at Bath, Maine, on 6 December 1988, and launched on 16 September 1989 by Mrs. Arleigh Burke. The Admiral himself was present at her commissioning ceremony on 4 July 1991, held on the waterfront in downtown Norfolk, Virginia.

The "Flight IIA Arleigh Burke" ships have several new features, beginning with the Oscar Austin (DDG-79). Among the changes are the addition of two hangars for ASW helicopters, and a new, longer Mark 45 Mod 4 5-inch/62-caliber naval gun (fitted on Winston S. Churchill (DDG-81) and later ships). Later Flight IIA ships starting with USS Mustin have a modified funnel design that buries the funnels within the superstructure as a signature-reduction measure. TACTAS towed array sonar was omitted from flight IIA ships and they also lack Harpoon missile launchers. Ships from DDG-68 to DDG-84 have AN/SLQ-32 antennas that resemble V3 configuration similar to those deployed on Ticonderoga class cruisers, while the remainder have V2 variants externally resembling ones deployed on some Oliver Hazard Perry class frigates. V3 has an active electronic countermeasures component while V2 is passive only. A number of Flight IIA ships were constructed without a Phalanx CIWS because of the planned Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile, but later the Navy decided to retrofit all IIA ships to carry at least one Phalanx CIWS by 2013.
USS Pinckney , USS Momsen, USS Chung-Hoon, USS Nitze, USS James E. Williams and USS Bainbridge  hve superstructure differences to accommodate the Remote Mine-hunting System (RMS). Mk 32 torpedo tubes were moved to the missile deck from amidships as well.

Modernisation

The US Navy has begun a modernization program for the Arleigh Burke class aimed at improving the gun systems on the ships in an effort to address congressional concerns over the retirement of the Iowa-class battleships. This modernization was to include an extension of the range of the 5-inch (127 mm) guns on the Flight I Arleigh Burke-class destroyers (USS Arleigh Burke to USS Ross) with extended range guided munitions (ERGMs) that would enable the ships to fire projectiles about 40 nautical miles (74 km) inland.  However the ERGM was cancelled.

The modernization program is designed to provide a comprehensive mid-life upgrade to ensure that the class remains effective. Reduced manning, increased mission effectiveness, and a reduced total cost of ownership are the goals of the modernization program. Modernization technologies will be integrated during new construction of DDG-111 and 112, then retrofitted into DDG Flight I and II ships during in-service overhaul periods. The first phase will update the hull, mechanical and electrical systems while the second phase will introduce an open architecture computing environment. The result will be improved capability in both ballistic missile defense (BMD) and littoral combat.

The class was scheduled to be replaced by the Zumwalt class destroyer beginning in 2020, but increasing threat of both long and short range missiles caused the Navy to restart production of the Arleigh Burke-class and consider placing littoral combat mission modules on the new ships.

In April 2009, the Navy announced a plan that limited the Zumwalt class to three units while ordering another three Arleigh Burke class ships from both Bath Iron Works and Ingalls Shipbuilding.  On 2 December 2009, Northrop Grumman received a $170.7 million letter contract for DDG-113 long lead time materials. Formal awarding of the main construction contract is expected in 2010.

Flight III ships will be built starting in FY2016 in place of the canceled CG(X) program. The Flight III destroyers will have 14 foot diameter radars (up from 12 feet currently) and various other design improvements, such as larger size and much larger missile tubes. These Air and Missile Defense Radars (AMDR) will use digital beamforming.

In July 2010, BAE Systems announced that they had been awarded a contract to modernise 11 ships.

Operational History

One Arleigh Burke class ship, the USS Cole, was damaged while docked by an attack in which an improvised explosive device was delivered by suicide bombers on a boat on October 12, 2000 in Aden, Yemen. The ship was repaired and returned to duty in 2001.

Ships of the class

Name	Hull No	Status
Arleigh Burke	DDG-51	Active
Barry	DDG-52	Active
John Paul Jones	DDG-53	Active
Curtis Wilbur	DDG-54	Active
Stout	DDG-55	Active
John S. McCain	DDG-56	Active
Mitscher	DDG-57	Active
Laboon	DDG-58	Active
Russell	DDG-59	Active
Paul Hamilton	DDG-60	Active
Ramage	DDG-61	Active
Fitzgerald	DDG-62	Active
Stethem	DDG-63	Active
Carney	DDG-64	Active
Benfold	DDG-65	Active
Gonzalez	DDG-66	Active
Cole	DDG-67	Active
The Sullivans	DDG-68	Active
Milius	DDG-69	Active
Hopper	DDG-70	Active
Ross	DDG-71	Active
Mahan	DDG-72	Active
Decatur	DDG-73	Active
McFaul	DDG-74	Active
Donald Cook	DDG-75	Active
Higgins	DDG-76	Active
O'Kane	DDG-77	Active
Porter	DDG-78	Active
Oscar Austin	DDG-79	Active
Roosevelt	DDG-80	Active
Winston S. Churchill	DDG-81	Active
Lassen	DDG-82	Active
Howard	DDG-83	Active
Bulkeley	DDG-84	Active
McCampbell	DDG-85	Active
Shoup	DDG-86	Active
Mason	DDG-87	Active
Preble	DDG-88	Active
Mustin	DDG-89	Active
Chafee	DDG-90	Active
Pinckney	DDG-91	Active
Momsen	DDG-92	Active
Chung-Hoon	DDG-93	Active
Nitze	DDG-94	Active
James E. Williams	DDG-95	Active
Bainbridge	DDG-96	Active
Halsey	DDG-97	Active
Forrest Sherman	DDG-98	Active
Farragut	DDG-99	Active
Kidd	DDG-100	Active
Gridley	DDG-101	Active
Sampson	DDG-102	Active
Truxtun	DDG-103	Active
Sterett	DDG-104	Active
Dewey	DDG-105	Active
Stockdale	DDG-106	Active
Gravely	DDG-107	Launched
Wayne E. Meyer	DDG-108	Active
Jason Dunham	DDG-109	Launched
William P. Lawrence	DDG-110	Launched
Spruance	DDG-111	Launched
Michael Murphy	DDG-112	Keel Laid
Callaghan	DDG-113	Contracted
Scott	DDG-114	Contracted
Chandler	DDG-115	Contracted

USS The Sullivans is seen here departing Faslane

USS Roosevelt seen here departing Faslane the same day