USS Arleigh Burke (DDG-51), named for Admiral Arleigh A. Burke, USN (1901–1996), is the lead ship of the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destoryers. She was laid down by the Bath Iron Works company at Bath, Maine, on 6 December 1988, and launched on 16 September 1989 by Mrs. Arleigh Burke. The Admiral was present in person at her commissioning ceremony on 4 July 1991, which was held on the waterfront in downtown Norfolk, Virginia.

Arleigh Burke's designers incorporated many lessons learned by the Royal Navy during the Falklands Campaign and from the Tigonderoga-class missile cruisers. The Ticonderoga-class cruisers were becoming too expensive to continue building, and were too difficult to upgrade. Arleigh Burke's design includes what is now better known as stealth technology, which improves the ship's ability to evade anti-ship missiles. She also uses a slightly downgraded version of the Aegis combat system, which allows for launching, tracking, and evading missiles simultaneously. Her all-steel construction provides good protection for her superstructure, while her Collective Protection System allows her to operate in environments contaminated by chemical, biological, or radiological materials.

History
United States
Name:	Arleigh Burke
Namesake:	Arleigh Albert Burke
Ordered:	2 April 1985
Builder:	Bath Iron Works
Laid down:	6 December 1988
Launched:	16 September 1989
Commissioned:	4 July 1991
Homeport:	NAVSTA Norfolk, Virginia, U.S.
Identification:	DDG-51
Motto:	Fast and Feared
Status:	in active service
General characteristics
Class and type:	Arleigh Burke-class destroyer
Displacement:	Light: approx. 6,800 long tons (6,900 t) Full: approx. 8,900 long tons (9,000 t)
Length:	505 ft (154 m)
Beam:	66 ft (20 m)
Draft:	31 ft (9.4 m)
Propulsion:	4 General Electric LM2500-30 gas turbines, two shafts, 100,000 total shaft horsepower (75 MW)
Speed:	>30 knots (56 km/h)
Range:	4,400 nautical miles at 20 knots (8,100 km at 37 km/h)
Complement:	33 commissioned officers 38 chief petty officers 210 enlisted personnel
Sensors and processing systems:	AN/SPY-1D 3D radar AN/SPS-67(V)2 surface-search radar AN/SPS-73(V)12 surface-search radar AN/SPG-62 fire-control radar AN/SQS-53C sonar array AN/SQR-19 tactical towed array sonar AN/SQQ-28 LAMPS III shipboard system
Electronic warfare & decoys:	AN/SLQ-32(V)2 Electronic Warfare System AN/SLQ-25 Nixie Torpedo Countermeasures MK 36 MOD 12 Decoy Launching System AN/SLQ-39 CHAFF Buoys
Armament:	1 × 29 cell, 1 × 61 cell Mk 41 vertical launching systems with 90 × RIM-156 SM-2, BGM-109 Tomahawk or RUM-139 VL-ASROC missiles 2 x Mk 141 Harpoon Missile Launcher SSM 1 × Mark 45 5/54 in (127/54 mm) 2 × 25 mm chain gun 4 × .50 caliber (12.7 mm) guns 2 × 20 mm Phalanx CIWS 2 × Mk 32 triple torpedo tubes
Aircraft carried:	2 Sikorsky MH-60R helicopters can be embarked