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According to a Reuters report, two US officials reveal that a US Navy warship shot down a drone that originated in Yemen over the Red Sea. The unnamed officials tell the news agency that the Thomas Hudner, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, shot down the drone early this morning.

Northrop Grumman is pitching a way to free up space and weight on existing ships for additions like lasers and microwave weapons. The company provides the prime power equipment for the SPY-6 radar and the SEWIP Block 3 electronic warfare system, both of which will be built into the Flight III destroyers and backfit onto Flight IIA destroyers. Rather than build two separate prime power systems, each controlling one weapon system, Northrop Grumman has created a Multifunction Prime Power System... Northrop has estimated it would cut the cost of the power system by 20% on both the existing Flight IIA...

Navy DDG-51 Flight III modifications. SOURCE: GAO ARLINGTON: The Navy has crammed as much electronics as it can into its new DDG-51 Flight III destroyers now beginning construction, Rear Adm. William Galinis said this morning. That drives the service towards a new Large Surface Combatant that can comfortably accommodate the same high-powered radars, as well as future weapons such as lasers, on either a modified DDG-51 hull or an entirely new design. “It’s going to be more of an evolutionary approach as we migrate from the DDG-51 Flight IIIs to the Large Surface Combatant,” said Galinis, the Navy’s Program Executive...

The first Flight III Arleigh Burke guided missile destroyer will be built at General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, according to a Sunday statement from the Navy to USNI News. Last week, the Navy issued a pre-solicitation notice on FedBizOpps stating the service intended to issue a Request for Proposal to Bath Iron Works for a Burke DDG “and associated supplies and services which are anticipated to be delivered in the Flight III configuration,” read the notice. The ship will feature the first operational installation of the Raytheon AN/SPY-6 Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR) – an active electronically scanned array...

The re-start of the DDG51 Arleigh Burke destroyer production line is moving forward with the launch of the first new Flight IIA vessel – John Finn (DDG 113) in March after a five-year gap. Speaking at Sea-Air-Space 2015, Cdr Seth Miller, the production manager of the DDG51 programme said that the launch took place at Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) shipyard on 28 March with the next ship, Ralph Johnson (DDG 114) due to be launched on 6 November. The keels of two more ships will also be laid down this year. Paul Ignatius (DDG 117) will be laid on 10...

Navy Bets On Arleigh Burkes To Sail Until 2072; 40 Years Afloat For Some Tomorrow morning, at Manhattan's Pier 88, the Navy will commission its newest destroyer, DDG-112. The USS Michael Murphy's namesake was uncompromisingly heroic, a Navy SEAL who died earning the Medal of Honor in Afghanistan. The ship itself, however, embodies a series of cost-conscious compromises that will keep the Navy sailing a 1980s design -- albeit much upgraded --until at least 2072. These destroyers are and will long remain the Navy's mainstay. The Arleigh Burke class to which the Murphy belongs is built to carry the Aegis...

Could Saudi Arabia be Bath Iron Works’ next big customer? Pat Wellenbach | AP The christening of the Murphy, the last in a series of Arleigh Burke class destroyers, takes place in May at Bath Iron Works' shipyard in Bath, Maine. The Arleight Burke class of destroyer is among those being considered by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as the country seeks to overhaul its seaborne military. By Seth Koenig, BDN Staff Posted Aug. 31, 2011, at 7:17 p.m. BATH, Maine — Historically a dealer of warships exclusively to the U.S. Navy, Bath Iron Works may find itself a new...

Navy savings may bolster DDG-51s By Seth Koenig, Times Record Staff Published: Friday, January 7, 2011 2:16 PM EST BATH — U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, on Thursday applauded a Navy decision to buy another Arleigh Burke class destroyer with money it saves in a streamlining effort. Collins described the move as a positive step toward her ultimate goal of increasing the Navy’s procurement rate of destroyers to three per year. Bath Iron Works is the lead shipyard in the DDG-51 Arleigh Burke class, and will be in the running along with Mississippi-based competitor Ingalls shipyard to build the additional...

Sometimes a weapon comes along that is too damn useful to replace. One outstanding example is the Sidewinder air-to-air missile. Another is the M-16 (5.56mm) rifle. Both have been around for over half a century, and no one can come up with a clearly superior replacement. Same thing is happening in the U.S. Navy, where attempts to replace the Arleigh Burke class destroyers have met with failure. The navy put much effort into developing a successor for the Burke. But, in the end, the navy could only justify building, at most, three of the new DDG-1000 class ships. Instead, they...

Arleigh Burke-class destroyers such as the USS Ross and USS Cole, which survived a terrorist suicide bombing in Yemen, have proven to be durable workhorses in the U.S. Navy. Retired Rear Adm. Michael K. Mahon calls the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer "the envy of the world." One of the ships is shown here in Bath, Maine, in May. Over the 22 years since construction of the first one began at Bath Iron Works, the ship has steamed into the record book: The destroyer's production run has outlasted every other battleship, cruiser, destroyer and frigate in U.S. Navy history.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (NNS) -- Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Gary Roughead delivered the principal address at the commissioning of the Navy's 53rd Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, USS Truxtun (DDG 103), April 25. CNO said the utility and importance of the Arleigh Burke class of guided missile destroyers has been clear in the decision to restart the production line and increase the number of ballistic missile upgrades to the existing DDGs. He said Truxtun is in the most advanced, capable and versatile surface combatant class in the world. "Two weeks ago, it was an Aegis destroyer, USS Bainbridge (DDG 96), that...

Arleigh Burke-class destroyers 'buckling' under stress, admits USN By Tara Copp Serious structural defects have been identified throughout the United States Navy's fleet of Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, Jane's can reveal. The navy (USN) has admitted that many of the 51 ships currently in service are buckling under the stress of higher-than-anticipated loads at sea. The impact of rough-sea slamming on the bow has led to warping of main transverse bulkhead beams and some of the cribbing, a source said. Repairs and strengthening work is already being carried out on the latest Flight IIA ships as well as vessels from the...

The Navy will commission the newest Arleigh Burke class guided-missile destroyer, Halsey, Saturday, July 30, 2005, during an 11 a.m. PDT ceremony at Pier J, Naval Air Station, Coronado, Calif. Sen. John McCain of Arizona will deliver the ceremony's principal address. Heidi Cooke Halsey, Anne Halsey-Smith, and Alice “Missy” Spruance Talbot will serve as sponsors of the ship named for their grandfather. In a time-honored Navy tradition, they will give the first order to "man our ship and bring her to life!" Halsey honors U.S. Naval Academy graduate Fleet Adm. William F. Halsey Jr. (1882-1959). During World War I, Cmdr....

TUCSON, Ariz., May 6, 2005 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) has been awarded a $162.7 million contract for production of the Evolved SeaSparrow Missile (ESSM) for the U.S. Navy and nine other allied nations. An international cooperative upgrade of the RIM-7 NATO SeaSparrow Missile, ESSM provides self-defense battlespace and firepower against high-speed, highly maneuverable anti-ship missiles. The contract calls for production of 251 missiles, associated spares and shipping containers for Australia, Canada, Germany, Norway and the U.S. by October 2007. Forty-five percent of the work will be done by Raytheon and 55 percent by Raytheon's international partners. ESSM is...

Navy to Christen New Guided-Missile Destroyer Halsey The newest Arleigh Burke class guided-missile destroyer, Halsey (DDG 97) will be christened on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2004, during a 10 a.m. CST ceremony at Northrop Grumman Ship Systems in Pascagoula, Miss. Adm. William J. Fallon, commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, will deliver the ceremony’s principal address in concert with Haley Barbour, governor of Mississippi. Heidi Cook Halsey, Anne Halsey Smith, and Alice “Missy” Spruance Talbot will serve as sponsors of the ship named for their grandfather. In the time-honored Navy tradition, they will break the bottle of champagne across the bow to...

Special from United States Department of Defense WASHINGTON (NNS) -- The newest Arleigh Burke class guided-missile destroyer, Chafee, will be commissioned Saturday, Oct. 18, 2003, during an 11 a.m. eastern ceremony in Newport, R.I. The ship honors John Hubbard Chafee of Providence, R.I. Chafee distinguished himself as a U.S. senator, Navy secretary, Rhode Island governor, and a Marine -- with service as both an enlisted man and commissioned officer. Commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. Michael W. Hagee, will deliver the ceremony's principal address. Serving as co-sponsors for the ship will be Virginia Chafee, wife of the ship's namesake and...