The USS Frank E. Petersen Jr., an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer. (Ingalls Shipbuilding)
ANALYSIS/SPECIAL REPORT
Editor’s note: This is the first of a continuing series that analyzes not just the weaponry layers in the Golden Dome defense concept, but the layers of people behind them.
This story takes a look at the role U.S. Navy Arleigh Burke-class destroyers would have as a first line of defense against an enemy missile attack on the American homeland.
*****
By Troy Turner
The parking lots are filled, not with hundreds of vehicles, but thousands.
The clanging sound of steel beams jostled, the welder sparks flying, rainbow arches taking shape and cranes hoisting heavy payloads to and fro overhead all take rhythm in the constant movement of 11,000 employees.
Ingalls Shipyard on the gentle Gulf waters of Pascagoula, Mississippi, is not be the first place some would look to explain Golden Dome as a plan to defend the American homeland.
Yet, this is where ships such as the U.S. Navy’s battle-proven Arleigh Burke guided missile destroyers are made, and the ships under construction today are nothing like yesterday’s version of a destroyer.
A growing class
The USS Arleigh Burke, the first and namesake ship of its class, was built by Bath Iron Works in Maine and commissioned on July 4, 1991. Since then, shipbuilder Ingalls Shipbuilding and its parent company, Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), also began building the destroyers.
Most recently the USS Jeremiah Denton (DDG-129), a Flight III variant expected to join the fleet in 2026, was christened on June 28, 2025, in Pascagoula with the Navy’s Vice Admiral James Downey in attendance and paying tribute to the already impressive history of the Arleigh Burke class.
“Since the USS Arleigh Burke entered service in 1991, the Navy has commissioned another 74 hulls in this class. Think about that, 75 ships in one class,” he said. “This ship will be the 79th ship,” as one among five in various stages of production today at Ingalls Shipyard.
Downey pointed to the destroyer’s continued evolution since 1991.
The USS Laboon (DDG 58/U.S. Navy)
“They are certainly not all the same,” Downey said. “They have evolved significantly over the years. And they are all still operating around the world, none of them decommissioned, and all of the early ones are going through life extensions to serve beyond their years.”
Proven in combat
Downey pointed out the Arleigh Burke class already has a successful combat record, as was proven in the Middle East region.
“Admiral Burke once said to the crew of the DDG-51, his ship, named after him: ‘This ship is built to fight. You had better know how.’ That was his message to the crew,” Downey said.
“So, for an example of how that lives on today, we only have to look at the actions of the USS Carney, DDG-64, and her sister destroyers in the Red Sea, to see life-and-death resourcefulness of well-trained crews tested in battle,” he said.
“During just one 10-hour standoff, a year-and-a-half ago in 2023, the USS Carney shot down four cruise missiles and 15 drones fired upon her by Houti rebels out of Yemen,” he said. “It was the most intense combat engagement by a U.S. Navy warship since World War II.”
When it came time to sail home, Downey said, the Carney left that Red Sea patrol with a total of 51 combat engagements.
The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Carney (DDG 64/U.S.Navy)
“Admiral Burke would have been proud of Carney’s and the countless other crews that carry on his legacy of selfless devotion,” he said.
So, what makes the destroyer class remain a vital combat option going forward for the U.S. Navy and, pertinent to the Golden Dome discussion, a worthy asset in future homeland missile defense?
Begin with a look at the AEGIS Combat System.
Lockheed Martin’s role
Defense industry superpower Lockheed Martin is well known for its diverse portfolio in support of the U.S. military, including in Alabama with the likes of its role with the F-35 stealth fighter jet (Montgomery), the Next Generation Interceptor (NGI) ballistic missile defense program (Courtland and Huntsville), the THAAD missile defense program (Troy) and much more.
Lockheed Martin’s AEGIS Combat System, however, is in itself a gamechanger when it sails into hostile waters aboard an Arleigh Burke destroyer.
Image/Lockheed Martin
It implements the AEGIS Weapon System: a centralized, automated, command-and-control (C2) and weapons control system designed as a total weapon system, from detection to kill.
Combined with an advanced radar system built by Raytheon, the newest destroyers have a modern combination of radar, sensors and command-and-control.
All of which will prove critically important in adapting to warfare that involves drones in both air and sea, in addition to traditional threats such as missiles, rockets, enemy aircraft and opposing naval vessels including submarines.
Widespread integration is standard practice now, and that includes the use of space assets. The new Arleigh Burkes will have that ability in its C2 operations.
New weapons being developed for the Navy also are on the way.
Lockheed Martin officials are working with the Navy on implementing the Army’s Patriot missile system, specifically the PAC-3 MSE (Missile Segment Enhancement), which is eyed for placement on Arleigh Burke destroyers beginning in 2026.
The Patriot systems deployed in combat thus far by the U.S. Army and allied militaries have more than proven their effectiveness in missile defense, and they remain in high demand around the globe.
During an August briefing prior to the 2025 Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville, Lockheed Martin officials mentioned the PAC-3 progress being made with the Navy, and when asked by AlaDefense.com if any new integrations beyond that and continued AEGIS upgrades were planned, they pointed to Japan.
The SPY-series radar
Lockheed Martin recently delivered the first Aegis System Equipped Vessel (ASEV) shipset comprised of four SPY-7 antennas to the Japan Ministry of Defense.
Meaning, American allies as well as the U.S. Navy aggressively are looking to the future now for the most advanced radar/sensor/detection systems on their warships.
Arleigh Burke ships under construction today with the SPY-6 version is a big advancement; the SPY-7 development promises even more ability.
“SPY-7 radar is the most advanced technology that will provide the capability to make warfighter decisions, accurately and quickly,” Lockheed Martin materials say. “SPY-7 has the ability to detect, track and engage sophisticated ballistic missile and advanced air threats. It engages multiple targets simultaneously with proven interceptors…
“The SPY-7 is also interoperable with other radars and platforms,” Lockheed Martin reports. “It’s fully compatible with the Aegis Combat System and is being fielded with domestic and international customers,” such as the U.S. Missile Defense Agency with the land-based version in Guam, the Spanish navy’s F-110 Frigate, and the Canadian Surface Combatant.
And now, Japan.
Regarding its enhanced ability for tracking range, think space-based targeting as part of its mission.
The rapid development of sensors and radars, along with C2 systems, are constantly considered with construction and upgrades of the Arleigh Burke destroyers.
Supplementing limited magazines
And then, there is the future warfare capability that will involve directed-energy weapons such as lasers and microwave.
Research and development work continues at a steady pace for land, air, sea and space implementation of directed-energy weapons, with various stages of success.
“Clean air,” for example, is a term often cited as a challenge since dust clouds, heavy smoke and similar factors can influence laser and microwave effectiveness. The Air Force most often can use directed energy without such a concern; land- and sea-based assets cannot.
U.S. Navy
Nevertheless, recent combat events in the Middle East and observations from the war in Ukraine have proven that ship magazines, specifically, cannot always hold the depth of defense weaponry that could be needed in a new-era fight, which could include drone swarms as well as numerous cruise missiles and/or ballistic fires.
Thus, the need for directed-energy firepower and defense to be realized and at a quicker pace, including on Navy warships.
Then comes another factor, one that Arleigh Burke shipbuilders are addressing now and more so in the future: the need for greater electrical power production.
Where’s the juice?
Directed energy requires much-increased electric power, and while land-, air- and space-based strategists explore their own options, the Navy must look at how to build around power sources on its ships.
Including the Flight III version of Arleigh Burkes in construction now.
“As part of the Flight III upgrades, we went to a higher voltage electrical system,” Brian Blanchette, executive vice president of HII and president of the Ingalls Shipbuilding division, told AlaDefense.com.
Flight III ships are using three Rolls-Royce generators, compared to three Allison generators used in the earlier flights, providing a significant upgrade in electrical output.
The Rolls-Royce AG9160RF generator is a more powerful and higher voltage generator set for the Flight III destroyers. (Rolls-Royce)
“We went from a 450-volt to a 4160-volt electrical power generation,” Blanchette said. “And those new generators are putting out more power.
“So, we added about a megawatt of power to the ship as part of the Navy’s design, and us and Bath Iron Works are working with the Navy to turn that design into reality.”
The realized need for more electrical power is far-ranging.
“That gives them the electrical power they need for the new Spy-6 radar, and really for any of the systems they envision anytime in the near future,” Blanchette said.
Will that be enough?
“There is still some margin, obviously as you get into the future, and you envision things like lasers and rail guns, and things we can’t even really imagine today,” he said. “The Navy is looking at higher and higher power demands, which probably takes you to a ship class beyond the Flight III, and that’s why we’re doing work on the DDG-X design as we speak.”
The Navy’s DDG-X program anticipates procuring a class of next-generation guided-missile destroyers to replace the Navy’s Ticonderoga class cruisers and older Arleigh Burke class destroyers. The Navy wants to procure the first DDG-X in the early 2030s.
GAO/public release
The Navy’s proposed FY2026 budget requested $133.5 million in research and development funding for the program.
The Navy and Golden Dome
Golden Dome defense is a concept aimed at providing layers of firepower and sophistication in defending the American homeland, with decisions that would be required on what weapons to fire and when.
One of those battleplan layers likely will include a string of U.S. Navy ships at sea, which could be extended or pulled in to whatever distance from shore deemed most effective.
The Arleigh Burke class of destroyers now and for years to come will play a critical role in that plan.
That makes the work of the 11,000 employees at Ingalls Shipyard, including almost 2,000 who commute from neighboring Alabama, a significant and vital contribution to national defense.
Likewise for the contractors such as Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and the many others who play a part in making the warships of the U.S. Navy ready for the challenge.
The USS Jeremiah Denton is named after the Vietnam war hero and former U.S. Senator from Alabama who, while serving as a POW for almost eight horrific years, became legendary following an enemy propaganda television interview for using his eyes to flash a message in Morse Code: T-0-R-T-U-R-E.
Jeremiah Denton alongside his Navy aircraft. (Courtesy photo)
It was the first confirmation that American POWs were being tortured, and Denton’s courage in sending the message and inspiring fellow prisoners to survive their ordeal made the name worthy of recognition on an Arleigh Burke destroyer, Navy officials said.
Denton’s family agreed, including son Jerry who shared insight from the family’s private tour of the ship, though still in construction mode.
USS Jeremiah Denton was christened June 28, 2025. (Photo/AlaDefense.com)
“It’s not finished yet, but they took us inside to the control-and-command center, showed us where the various monitors are going to go; basically, the brains of the ship,” he told AlaDefense.com. “It is super impressive. This ship is 500 feet long, and they say it’s the most powerful vessel on the planet now, or will be in a few months.”
Asked if the family felt the honor was appropriate, “Yes,” he said. “They could have named a tanker after him, but that just didn’t seem appropriate.
“It needed to be a fighting ship.”
That, it is.
And one of the newest in a class of ships that soon could become a first line of defense in a new strategy known as Golden Dome.
*****
Troy Turner is the editor and senior consultant for AlaDefense.com. He can be reached at [email protected]. His bio can be found here.
Next in the series: Golden Dome — the recruiters.
Similar stories of interest:
