What You Need to Know: In response to rising tensions with China, the U.S. Navy will extend the service life of 12 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, preserving their critical role amid challenges in fleet expansion.

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

-This decision underscores the Navy’s commitment to sustaining its battle force while advancing construction of newer vessels to address the evolving global threat landscape.

-The Navy’s budget constraints make extending these vital warships a strategic necessity.

U.S. Extends Life of 12 Arleigh Burke Destroyers Amid Rising China Tensions

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

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

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

Breath of Life

The Navy is having difficulties building enough warships, and that is the main reason it delays retiring older vessels.

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

“Extending these highly-capable, well-maintained destroyers will further bolster our numbers as new construction warships join the Fleet,” Del Toro said in a press release  “It also speaks to their enduring role in projecting power globally, and most recently in the Red Sea, their proven ability to defend themselves, as well as our allies, partners and friends from missile and drone attacks.”

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

“The Arleigh Burke Class Destroyer is critical to the Navy’s mission and has proven itself most capable in contested environments, like the Red Sea,” the Navy added, indicating the role of Arleigh Burke destroyers in active combat operations against the Houthi rebels in Yemen, as well as against the 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 required another extensive and costly docking availability,” the Navy stated.

Although Flight I destroyers don’t pack the same cutting-edge capabilities as the newer Flight IIA and Flight III versions, they still bring important firepower to the battlefield. Specifically, the pack a double Mark 141 Harpoon anti-ship missile launcher and 90 Mark 41 Vertical Launching Systems that can fire a wide range of cruise missiles, including anti-air munitions and land-attack Tomahawk cruise missiles.

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

“Today’s budget constrained environment requires the Navy to make prioritized investments to keep more ready players on the field,” Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Lisa Franchetti stated.

“The Navy is actively pulling the right levers to maintain and grow its Battle Force Inventory to support the United States’s global interests in peace and to win decisively in conflict.”

The Arleigh Burke program is a major chapter for the Navy. It is one of the longest-running shipbuilding projects in its history and has been active for 39 years. Overall, the Navy has ordered 94 warships of the class, with around 20 vessels to be delivered in the coming years.

Destroyers are versatile warships that can conduct a wide range of mission sets, including anti-surface warfare, air defense, anti-submarine warfare, and ground attack.

About the Author 

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

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