(Photo by Nick-D) The Hobart-class destroyer is basically half of an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer. Read further for an in-depth look at the Arleigh Burke class’s specifications and equipment. Modified Adelaide-class guided missile frigates, like HMAS Darwin (forward), held the line until HMAS Hobart (rear) was ready to enter service. First of all it’s a great question. Officially, the Arleigh Burke Class can top out at about 30 kts, but reports say its true top speed is somewhere closer to 35 kts, or just over a whopping 40 mph. The Arleigh Burke-class of guided missile destroyers (DDGs) is the United States Navy's first class of destroyer built around the Aegis Combat System and the SPY-1D multi-function phased array radar. With several Arleigh Burke-class like systems and features, including the Phalanx CIWS defense system, the new Hobart-class destroyer hopes to achieve getting to the American destroyer’s level, albeit a notch or two lower. So in the 70’s I wondered about the destroyers we were building which were larger than the cruisers of an earlier era. Zumwalt has less than 1/2 the crew size due to more automation. Contracts for the destroyers were split between the Northrop Grumman Ship Systems (formerly Litton Ingalls Shipbuilding) (28 ships), based in Pascagoula, Mississippi and the General Dynamics subsidiary, Bath Iron Works, based in Maine (34 ships). The DDG-51 Arleigh Burke class was rated as a destroyer vice a cruiser for its lack of similar capabilities as compared to the Ticonderoga’s. The class is named for Admiral Arleigh Burke, the most famous American destroyer officer of World War II, and later Chief of Naval Operations. Arleigh Burke class general-purpose destroyer was originally intended to be a cheaper, less capable vessel than the Ticonderoga class cruiser, the design has evolved into an extremely capable general purpose warship, incorporating highly advanced weaponry and systems. One of my favorite novels as a teen was HMS Ulysees, a British cruiser in WWII. Zumwalt has 50% larger displacement. The Zumwalt class (DDG 1000) is as large as a late World War 2 cruiser, but it too appears to be essentially a large destroyer-type vessel. Miscellaneous The Arleigh Burke class is the only American destroyer type currently in production and will remain the principal surface combatant of the US Navy for decades to come. Arleigh Burke Class (Aegis) Destroyer, United States of America The first Arleigh Burke Class Aegis destroyer was commissioned in 1991.