History

USS Arleigh Burke is the lead ship of the Arleigh Burke class of guided missile destroyers. These ships were the first destroyers in the world equipped with the AEGIS Weapons Systems.

USS Arleigh Burke was the first U.S. Navy ship designed to incorporate shaping techniques to reduce radar cross-section to reduce their detectability and likelihood of being targeted by enemy weapons and sensors. Originally designed to defend against Soviet aircraft, cruise missiles, and nuclear attack submarines, this higher capability ship is to be used in high-threat areas to conduct antiair, antisubmarine, antisurface, and strike operations.
 

The lead ship of her class of guided-missile destroyers, USS Arleigh Burke (DDG-51), was commissioned at Norfolk Navy Yard, Norfolk, Virginia, on July 4, 1991.   Built with emphasis on stealth technology, she is a multi-mission destroyer with strong Aegis capability.   Her first supportive mission was when she departed in 1993 to support the "No-Fly-Zone" over Bosnia and Herzegovina during Operation Provide Promise.   Arleigh Burke has participated in both Operation Enduring Freedom since 2001 and Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003, where her Tomahawk missiles were used on targets against Iraq.   During her cruises since that time, she has also served in the Gulf of Aden and off Somalia in anti-piracy operations.   In September 2014, she fired Tomahawk missiles on ISIS targets in Syria while in the Red Sea.   Still in service, Arleigh Burke is homeported at Norfolk Naval Station, Norfolk Virginia.