According to information published by the US DoD on April 18, 2023, the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Milius (DDG 69) conducted a Taiwan Strait transit.
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Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Milius. (Picture source: US Navy)
On April 11, 2023, the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) completed its "Joint Sword" exercises, which involved encircling the island of Taiwan.
USS Milius
The destroyer has a displacement of approximately 6,800 long tons when empty and 8,900 long tons when fully loaded. She measures 505 feet in length, 59 feet in beam, and has a draft of 31 feet. The propulsion system consists of two shafts that allow the ship to travel in excess of 30 knots.
USS Milius has a range of 4,400 nautical miles at 20 knots and has a crew of 33 commissioned officers, 38 chief petty officers, and 210 enlisted personnel.
She is equipped with several 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, AN/SPQ-9B surface search and fire-control radar, AN/SPS-73(V)12 surface search/navigation radar, and the BridgeMaster E surface search/navigation radar.
The ship's armament includes a 5-inch (127 mm)/54 Mk 45 Mod 1/2 (lightweight gun), 2 × 20 mm Phalanx CIWS, 2 × 25 mm Mk 38 Machine Gun System, 4 × .50 caliber (12.7 mm) guns, 2 × Mk 141 Harpoon Anti-Ship Missile Launcher, and 1 × 29-cell, 1 × 61-cell (90 total cells) Mk 41 Vertical Launching System (VLS).
The VLS can launch a variety of missiles, including the 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.
The destroyer also has 2 × Mark 32 triple torpedo tubes that can launch Mark 46 Lightweight Torpedo, Mark 50 Lightweight Torpedo, and Mark 54 Lightweight Torpedo.
