The Navy built two classes of warships around the Aegis combat system, beginning with the Ticonderoga class of cruisers in the 1980s and then the Arleigh Burke class of destroyers in the 1990s.

FORBES: Missile Defense Becomes A Navy Mission

The Navy, driven to meet a near-term requirement contained in a dramatically changing national ballistic missile defense (BMD) strategy, has, without any supporting analysis, chosen to back-fit and concurrently build more of the 30-year-old-design Aegis Arleigh Burke class DDG51 destroyers with only the most basic BMD capability.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Countering Beijing's new weapon

Washington will soon decide whether to sell several advanced weapons systems, most prominently four Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers, to Taiwan.

FORBES: HOW TO WIN TAX CUTS

The Arleigh Burke-class vessels are equipped with launch tubes for Tomahawk cruise missiles, Harpoon anti-ship missiles and gun placements for close combat.

BBC: News | In Depth | Military Fact Files

The US Navy has expanded the role of its destroyers and the Arleigh Burke-class of vessels is designed to launch simultaneous attacks against targets on land, in the air, at sea and below it.

BBC: News | In Depth | Military Fact Files