Arleigh Burke, Kongo, Super Gorshkov: Modern Destroyers - Part 2

This article follows on from the article " Hobart, Type 52D, Sejong the Great: Modern Destroyers - Part 1 »Published on May 24, 2021, which presented the Hobart (Australia), Type 052D / DL (China), Sejong the Great (South Korea) and Kolkata (India) classes. The second part completes this panel of the 8 main classes of Modern Destroyers, with the Kongo (Japan), Arleigh Burke (United States), Daring (United Kingdom) and 22350M Super Gorshkov (Russia) class.

Kongo class (Japan, 4 + 2 + 2 units)

The Japanese Naval Self-Defense Forces are considered to be the 3rd most powerfully armed fleet in the world, playing on a par with Russia and ceding only to the US Navy and Chinese naval forces. And the 4 heavy destroyers of the Kongo class, to which are added the 4 heavy anti-aircraft destroyers of the Atago and Maya classes, contribute greatly to this position, alongside the 20s or so.Soryu and Taigei-class ocean attack submarines. Derived from the American Arleigh Burke-class destroyers shown below, the Kongo-class destroyers were the first non-American ships to feature the famous SPY-1 radar and the AEGIS system, which heretofore only equipped Ticonderoga cruisers. and the early Arleigh Burke. Construction of the 4 Kongo began in 1990 and was completed in 1998, in order to replace the Amatsukaze-class destroyers still equipped with the Tartar system and SM1-MR missiles, while the risk of having to face Soviet supersonic bombers Tu -22M3 Backfire-C and their AS-4 supersonic anti-ship missiles Kelt was taken more and more seriously by the Japanese Navy in the late 80s when the decision to build these ships was taken.

161 m long for a loaded tonnage of 10.000 tonnes, the Kongo, like the American Burke Flight I, carry 90 vertical Mk41 silos to implement SM2 anti-aircraft missiles or ASROC anti-submarine missiles, as well as SM3 anti-ballistic missiles since the 2003 modernization. A 127 mm gun, 8 Harpoon anti-ship missiles, 2 CIWS Phalanx and 2 triple torpedo tubes complete the armament. Like the Burkes, the Kongo also have an SQS-53C hull sonar system, and use an SH-60J naval helicopter to enhance their ASM capabilities. Longer than 4 meters, the 2 destroyers of the Atago class were built from 2004 to 2008 to replace the destroyers of the Tashikaze class, also equipped with the Tartar system. Unlike the more versatile Kongo, the Atago were specialized for anti-aircraft and anti-missile warfare, and the protection of the Japanese coast against North Korean ballistic missiles. For this, the ships were fitted with the SPY-1D (V) radar, an evolution of the SPY-1D which equips the Kongo, but with much better performance near the coasts, in order to allow the ships to better protect the Japanese coast. . The 2 ships also natively carry the SM3 anti-ballistic missile, and have 96 vertical silos and not 90 like the Kongo. Although it has a hangar and a platform to operate an ASM SH-60J helicopter, it is rarely on board.

Both Maya class destroyers were built between 2017 and 2021, to replace the Hatakaze-class destroyers, the last Japanese naval vessels to use the Tartar system. Derived from the Atago, the Maya take the main characteristics, including the SPY-1D (V) radar and the 96 vertical silos. More modern, they can use the SM6 missile capable of striking ballistic missiles as well as ships and land targets. On the other hand, the two ships have a radically different propulsion architecture from that of the Kongo and Atago based on 4 LM-2500 gas turbines. The Maya, for their part, use a hybrid gas-electric propulsion known as COGLAG (Combined Gas turbine-eLectric And Gas), allowing to have a much greater electrical power than its predecessors, and therefore endowing them with a significant scalability. to implement directed energy weapon systems in the future, or a Rail Gun electric cannon.

Arleigh Burke Class (United States, 75 units +)

At the end of the 60s, the destroyer was a surface ship format that was no longer much favored by the planners of the US Navy, who then favored the construction of missile cruisers, some of which were nuclear powered. like the Virgins, and very successful frigate classes, with the Knoxes followed by the O / H Perry. In fact, from 1970 to the mid-80s, the US Navy only started building 35 destroyers, 31 of the Spruance class, and 4 of the Kidd class. But it quickly became evident that nuclear cruisers brought little added value to their prohibitive costs, and that the Ticonderoga heavy destroyers, later classified as cruisers, would also cost too much to produce to meet the demands. needs of the US Navy. The construction of Arleigh Burke class destroyers, which will prove to be one of the most prolific in the history of the American Navy, results from these criteria, and from the arrival of the SPY-1D radar simpler than the 1A version of the Ticonderoga.

154 meters long (156m for the most recent versions), and a tonnage ranging from 8200 tonnes for Flight I to 9500 tonnes for Flight III, the ships are designed around the AEGIS system and the SPY-1D radar ( v) giving them advanced air interception and anti-ballistic capabilities, even against so-called saturating attacks. For this, they carry 90 vertical silos Mk41 (96 from the Flight IIa version), receiving anti-aircraft missiles SM2, SM3 anti-ballistic missiles, SM6 multipurpose missiles and ASROC anti-submarine missiles, as well as close-range protection anti-aircraft missiles ESSM with 4 missiles per silo, and the famous cruise missile BGM-109 Tomahawk. The naval artillery consists of one 127mm gun, one or two CIWS Phalanx systems, and two 25mm bushmaster guns. Finally, the ship has two Mk-42 triple torpedo tubes for ASM Mk-46 or Mk-54 light torpedoes. From the Flight IIA versions, the ships can also accommodate one or two ASM SH-60R Romeo helicopters, the previous versions not having a hangar but only a landing platform.

The proven qualities of the Burkes made them a class of all records, with the number of ships built which today reaches 69, and which will probably exceed the hundred units in the years to come; a production period which already exceeds 35 years and which will probably exceed 45 years; and a very noticeable influence on the evolution of destroyers in the world, with ships directly inspired by the Burkes like the Japanese Kongo and the South Korean Sejong the Great, or related in their weapon system like the Australian Hobart. Even the Chinese Type 052s seem close to these destroyers. It is also one of the few modern surface combat ships to have had the favor of audiovisual production, notably with the series "The Last Ship" taken from the eponymous novel by William Brinkley.

Daring Type 45 class (UK, 6 units)

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