What you need to know: In response to growing tensions with China, the U.S. Navy will extend the life of 12 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, preserving their critical role in the face of fleet expansion challenges.

-Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro emphasized that these guided-missile destroyers provide critical firepower and versatility in contested areas like the Red Sea, where they actively counter threats such as missile and drone attacks .

-This decision underscores the Navy’s commitment to maintaining its warfighting strength while advancing construction of new ships to meet the evolving global threat landscape.

-Navy budgetary constraints make the expansion of these vital warships a strategic necessity.

US extends life of 12 Arleigh Burke destroyers amid growing tensions in China

As tensions with China continue to rise, the US Navy has decided to extend the life of 12 vital warships.

On Thursday, Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro announced that a dozen Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers would operate beyond their planned 35-year service life.

The Navy made the decision amid pressure to maintain a large fleet to counter the hundreds of warships China could put on the seas.

Breath of Life

The Navy is having difficulty building enough warships, and this is the main reason it is delaying the retirement of older ships.

According to the Navy, all Flight I destroyers (20 warships) underwent a thorough evaluation and it was determined that 12 of them could remain operational beyond their expected service life.

“The expansion of these highly capable, well-maintained destroyers will further strengthen our workforce as new warships join the fleet,” Del Toro said. said in a press release, “it also speaks to their enduring role in projecting power globally, and more recently in the Red Sea, to their proven ability to defend themselves, our allies, partners and friends against missile and drone attacks. »

Named after World War II legend Admiral Arleigh Burke, Arleigh Burke class of destroyers constitutes the cornerstone of the Navy’s surface combatant fleet with 73 ships (out of a total of 75 destroyers)

“The Arleigh Burke-class destroyer “is critical to the Navy’s mission and has proven itself highly capable in contested environments, such as the Red Sea,” the Navy added, indicating the role of Destroyers Arleigh Burke in active combat operations against Houthi rebels in Yemen, as well as against Iranian ballistic missile attacks.

“The final determination of each ship’s service life is based on maximizing the service life of each ship before it requires further extensive and costly berthing availability,” the Navy said.

Although Destroyers of Flight I do not offer the same cutting-edge capabilities as the new Flight IIA and Flight III versions, they nevertheless bring significant firepower to the battlefield. Specifically, the pack includes a dual Mark 141 Harpoon anti-ship missile launcher and 90 Mark 41 vertical launch systems capable of firing a wide range of cruise missiles, including anti-aircraft munitions and attack Tomahawk cruise missiles terrestrial.

In terms of the warship’s capabilities, Arleigh Burke comes in four versions: Vol I, Vol II, Flight IIAand Vol III. The more advanced the version (Flight IIA and Flight III), the better the ship’s capabilities.

“Today’s budget-constrained environment requires the Navy making priority investments to keep more ready players on the ground,” said Adm. Lisa Franchetti, Chief of Naval Operations.

“The Navy actively pulls the right levers to maintain and expand its inventory of combat forces to support U.S. global peace interests and win decisively in conflicts.

The Arleigh Burke Program is a major chapter for the Navy. It is one of the oldest shipbuilding projects in its history and has been active for 39 years. In total, the Navy has ordered 94 warships of this class, and around 20 ships will be delivered in the coming years.

Destroyers are versatile warships capable of carrying out a wide range of missions, including anti-surface warfare, air defense, anti-submarine warfareand attack on the ground.

About the author

Stavros Atlamazoglou is a seasoned defense journalist, specializing in special operations and a veteran of the Hellenic Army (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ). He holds a BA from Johns Hopkins University and an MS from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). His work has been featured in Business Insider, SandboxAnd SOFREP.

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