According to information published by the US DoD on March 14, 2023, an Aerosonde unmanned aerial system (UAS) assigned to the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Milius (DDG 69) was launched from the ship’s flight deck while operating in the Philippine Sea.
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Aerosonde UAS on Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Milius. (Picture source: US DoD)
The destroyer has a displacement of approximately 6,800 long tons in its light configuration and around 8,900 long tons in its full load configuration. The ship is 505 ft (154 m) long and has a beam of 59 ft (18 m), with a draft of 31 ft (9.4 m).
She is powered by two shafts and can achieve speeds in excess of 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph). Its range is approximately 4,400 nautical miles at 20 knots, and she has a complement of 33 commissioned officers, 38 chief petty officers, and 210 enlisted personnel.
The destroyer is equipped with various sensors and processing systems, including the AN/SPY-1D PESA 3D radar (Flight I, II, IIA), AN/SPY-6(V)1 AESA 3D radar (Flight III), AN/SPS-67(V)3 or (V)5 surface search radar (DDG-51 – DDG-118), AN/SPQ-9B surface search and fire-control radar (DDG-119 onwards), AN/SPS-73(V)12 surface search/navigation radar (DDG-51 – DDG-86), and BridgeMaster E surface search/navigation radar (DDG-87 onwards).
She is also equipped with three AN/SPG-62 fire-control radars and the AN/SQQ-89 ASW combat system, which consists of the AN/SQS-53C sonar array, AN/SQR-19 tactical towed array sonar (Flight I, II), TB-37U multi-function towed array sonar (DDG-113 onwards), and AN/SQQ-28 LAMPS III shipboard system.
The ship's armament includes guns such as the 5-inch (127 mm)/54 Mk 45 Mod 1/2 (lightweight gun), two 20 mm Phalanx CIWS, two 25 mm Mk 38 Machine Gun System, and four .50 caliber (12.7 mm) guns.
The destroyer also carries missiles such as two Mk 141 Harpoon Anti-Ship Missile Launchers, a 29-cell and 61-cell Mk 41 Vertical Launching System (VLS) for RIM-66M Surface-to-Air Missile, RIM-156 Surface-to-Air Missile, RIM-161 Anti-Ballistic Missile, BGM-109 Tomahawk Cruise Missile, and RUM-139 Vertical Launch ASROC.
She also has two Mark 32 triple torpedo tubes for Mark 46 Lightweight Torpedo, Mark 50 Lightweight Torpedo, and Mark 54 Lightweight Torpedo. Finally, the flight deck of the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer can accommodate one Sikorsky MH-60R aircraft.
