References on programmatic and technical topics related to USS Arleigh Burke, AEGIS, and Missile Defense
Work in progress – inputs appreciated
Note – due to quantity as we upload more archives, BMD references are being moved to a new sub-page
Shore Up the Navy Museum Ship Program – Captain John Cordle, U.S. Navy (Retired) and Commander Robert du Mont III, U.S. Navy (Retired) – Proceedings – January 2025
The Navy could start planning now for a Ticonderoga-class cruiser—perhaps the USS San Jacinto (CG 56) in Houston, Texas—and a guided-missile destroyer. The USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 51), which likely will decommission in the next five to seven years, would automatically qualify under the proposed new rules. Her display plan could be in place by that time, if the Navy starts today.
The Origins of Aegis – Eli T. Reich, Wayne Meyer, and the Creation of a Revolutionary Naval Weapons System – Thomas Wildenberg – Naval Institute Press – 2024
‘Detect, Control, Engage’: The Aegis Concept – Naval History Magazine – June 2023
USS ARLEIGH BURKE (DDG 51) RECEIVES SERVICE LIFE EXTENSION – Naval Surface Force Atlantic Press Release – March 14, 2023
“DDG 51’s are the best warships in history. They demonstrate that there are no limits to what we can accomplish with a strong American Navy-industrial partnership,” McLane said. “Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are the backbone of the Navy’s surface fleet and critical to the Nation and the Navy today and long into the future.”
Rear Adm. Brendan McLane – press release above
Welcome #71, and some thoughts on the endurance of the DDG 51 Class – ArleighBurkeAssociation.org – May 15, 2022
AEGIS, Shield of the Fleet – Lockheed Martin – Oct 1, 2020 (Press Release)
Note – good list of references at end
NSWC Philadelphia Division DDG 51-Class Land Based Engineering Site Celebrates 30 Years of Supporting the Fleet – NAVSEA NEWS, Oct. 8, 2019
Arleigh Burke: Leader, Ship Class, and Prologue – Vice Admiral John Morgan, U.S. Navy (Retired) with Captain Rick Easton, U.S. Navy (Retired) – Proceedings – July 2016
DDG 51 Modernization Program Meets Key Milestones – NavSea Press Release – Dec 22, 2014
Aegis: A Continuum of Excellence – RADM Brad Hicks and CAPT Al Grecco – Proceedings – Feb 2014
US Navy Missile Defense – 19 Part series by George Galdorisi – Defense Media Network (Sep 2012 – June 2013)
Fleet Review Panel Of Surface Force Readiness – Feb 26, 2010 – VADM P. M. Balisle, USN (Ret) (aka Balisle Report)
Why Arleigh Burkes Handle Differently – Captain Kenyon Hiser, U.S. Navy – Proceedings – November 2004 – Preprint
New Twist for Arleigh Burkes – Commander Terry D. Mosher, U.S. Navy –
Proceedings – September 2003
Details of DDG-51 Throttle Modes of Operation – Commander Terry D. Mosher, U.S. Navy – Proceedings – September 2003
Rededication Ceremony Held Nov 19 – Horizon – Dec 21, 2001
(Rich Cunningham was a key leader at LBES working design and sustainment of the DDG51 machinery control system)
Handling the Arleigh Burkes – Part Two – Commander Gene Moran, U.S. Navy and Lieutenant (junior grade) Amy Morrison, U.S. Navy – Proceedings – July 2000
The Yard – Building a Destroyer at Bath Iron Works – Michael S. Sanders – 1999 – Harper Collins. Focused on Donald B Cook, but interesting view of shipbuilding in Maine.
The Bumblebee Project – Evan D Nau – 1998
Handling the Arleigh Burkes – Commander James Stavridis, U.S. Navy – Proceedings – Oct 1994
Arleigh Burke Is Back – Commander John G. Morgan, USN – Proceedings – July 1991, also at USNI News July 2016
High Tech Below the Main Deck – Commander J. H. Preisel, Jr – Proceedings – October 1988
Arleigh Burke – Beating the Threat – LTjg Kenneth A. Heine – Surface Warfare – May 1988 – plus intro by VADM Nyquist
History Of Aegis – Naval Sea Systems Command – 1986
DDG51 and the Future Surface Navy – Captain Alva M Bowen, USN (Ret), and Ronald O’Rourke – Proceedings Naval Review 1985
The Ticonderoga Story: Aegis Works – By Captain Joseph L. McClane, Jr., U. S. Navy (Retired), and Commander James L. McClane, U. S. Navy –
Proceedings – May 1985
DDG51 Guided-Missile Destroyer Contract Design History – Naval Sea Sysems Command – Jan 1985
DDG51 Guided·Missle Destroyer Preliminary Design History – Naval Sea Systems Command – June 1984 (Rev Aug 1985)
AEGIS: A New Kind of Sea Power – F. W. Tortolano – Design News – Oct 25, 1982
The U. S. Navy: A New Destroyer Class – Norman Polmar – Proceedings – August 1982
Aegis – Rear Admiral Wayne E. Meyer and Captain Bart Dalla Mura – Proceedings – February 1977
The AEGIS Coloring Book – Johns Hopkins APL – 1973
AEGIS Excellence Newsletter – RCA – December 1972
An AEGIS History Course
The road to the AEGIS solution
A Radar History of World War II: Technical and Military Imperatives – Louis Brown – Institute of Physics Publishing – 1999
The emergence of radar in warfare. Thick reading, but where the technical story starts. Pay particular note to how Britain, with the lowest technology solution, develops the first real operational concept to employ radar, overcoming that low technology – that Germany had completely discounted, and could not believe was playing a factor in the Battle of Britain. This is the real story of modern warfare – it isn’t how good your technology is, but how you use it in an operationally relevant way.
When Computers Went to Sea: The Digitization of the United States Navy
– David L. Boslaugh – Wiley-IEEE Computer Society Press – 2003
Picks up right where the radar history ends – some crossover names. The data generated by radar quickly overcomes capability of the manual plotting board – what is the solution? And will a Navy CO “listen” to what a computer says? CDR Meyer appears at the end of this book.
The Story of AEGIS – Naval Engineers Journal – Special Edition – 2009
Development of the AEGIS solution
The beginning of real Systems Engineering – success came from taking over the entire combat system, then the entire ship – so that all subsystems were engineered to work together as an integrated, effective system.
Standard Missile: The Common Denominator – Marion E. Oliver And William N. Sweet – Johns Hopkins APL Technical Digest – Volume 2, Number 4 (October–December 1981)
Development of the missile from WWII. The development of real “fire control” – closed loop tracking for r(t) -> 0 (otherwise known as Mark India).
Other relevant articles in the same edition as above – Fleet Defense Systems And Technology. Other APL Tech Journals address AEGIS, Standard Missile, and Ballistic Missile Defense, but this is a good place to start.
AEGIS LEAP Intercept – Troy Kimmel – unpublished report – October 2004
Early history of the BMD capability.
Why Did AEGIS BMD Succeed? – J.K. Hiser – unpublished white paper -November 2019
With the deck stacked against success, how did AEGIS BMD become the US BMD workhorse? This was inspired by the same summary in the Boslaugh book, but without first developing the complete story.
USS Arleigh Burke Association 