[sasportas]

I was in the Navy in the 60's, we had 5"54 fore, aft, and amidship on the DDG's. What is that puny looking gun in your picture?

I guess your missles are lot more potent than what we had back then (Tartar SAM).

[wyattearp]

What is that puny looking gun in your picture?

Not a puny gun, a big ship. That is a 5-inch gun. It looks smaller than the older 5-inch guns because the turret is unmanned. Fully automated. Fast, just like the ship.

[Lancer_N3502A]

Oh how I miss the old gun destroyers.

The gun is a single 5"/54 MK 45 Light Weight Gun Mount (LWGM). Range is more than 13 nautical miles and can fire 16-20 rounds per minute, with 475-500 rounds stored.

The missle system is the MK 41 Vertical Launching System (VLS) with 90-96 cells carrying either Standard surface to air missles or Harpoon anti-ship missles.

Overall the ship is an awesome platform for the day.

[Captain Rhino]

5"/62 caliber Mk 45 Mod 4 Gun Weapon System. Fully automatic, rotary magazine fed. 20 rnds per minute rate of fire, IIRC. When they field the Extended Range Guided Munition (ERGM), it will have a maximum effective range of 107 km (62 nautical miles) with GPS/INS accuracy.

Some time during their service life, the Arleigh Burkes' GWS will probably be up-gunned to the planned 155mm gun. Same functionality as the Mk 45 Mod 4 but at a shade under 6" they will really be light cruisers.

[Bob]

Which DDG were you on? Mine was Hoel (DDG-13). While it was a great ship at the time, it's currently a power barge somewhere in South America. (The DLG that I served on is long since been made into razor blades.)