The USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG-54) is a modern American missile destroyer, the keel of which was laid in 1991, launched in May 1992, and commissioned by the US Navy in 1994. The total length of the ship is 154 meters and 20 meters wide. Full displacement is around 9,000 tons and the maximum speed is just over 30 knots. The destroyer is armed with: 2 VLS Mk. 41 - one 29-rail and one 61-rail, 2 quad Harpoon rocket launchers, a single 127mm Mark 45 cannon or two 20mm Vulcan Phalanx kits. The ship may operate with the use of in-flight helicopters, eg the Sikorsky MH-60R.
USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG-54) is one of 65 active service destroyers belonging to the Arleigh Burke-class. Units of this type were designed, were and are being built as multi-role destroyers, in which, however, special emphasis was placed on countering air targets. In the construction of these ships, the British experience from the Falklands war was used, and as a result, Kevlar armor was added to the most viable parts of ships of this class. At the same time, the Arleigh Burke-class ships have the revolutionary AEGIS network combat system, cooperating with the AN / SPY-1 radar, which provides them with unprecedented possibilities to control the airspace and counter air targets. This is the same system used on the Ticonderoga-class cruisers. One of the units of this class is the USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG-54). The ship was built at Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine. It was constructed in accordance with the Flight I standard. USS Curtis Wilbur, almost immediately after entering service, took part in the international RIMPAC 94 maneuvers. In 1994, the unit became the first AEGIS ship with a female crew member. In 1995, the ship supported Operation Southern Watch operating in the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea. Two years later, the unit took part in very intense sea exercises and maneuvers (eg Harmex 97-2). At the end of 2001, the unit supported the American activities related to running the so-called war on terrorism. In 2011, USS Curtis Wilbur participated in the humanitarian action caused by the earthquake and tsunami wave in Japan. In 2016, the ship operated in the South China Sea. USS Curtis Wilbur remains active.