U.S. destroyers, was berthed earlier this month just opposite one of the newest of the breed, the Jason Dunham (DDG 109). The Burke's smart outward appearance belied its 20-plus years in the fleet, and inside, courtesy of a major modernization, the ship now boasts major upgrades that rival many of the new systems in its 1-year-old fleet mate.
"I was worried about regaining our proficiency after nine months in the shipyard," said Cmdr.
Corey Keniston, the Burke's commanding officer. "But the VMS (Voyage Management System) has helped a lot." The system now installed on the Burke's bridge allows for "paperless" navigation, doing away with traditional charts for an all-electronic system that can call up virtually any port or shipping channel in the world.
As Keniston talked, watch standers were running a training scenario for an upcoming trip to the nearby Yorktown Naval Weapons Station. "They can run through this trip over and over and become quite familiar with it," Keniston said. "They'll know every buoy and bend in the channel before we get underway."
The digital voyage was displayed on removable flat panels mounted on new Helm Forward Stations mounted port and starboard near the pilot house's forward windows. A new helm console on the center line features touch-screen engine controls, as on more modern ships.
Computer screens on the new consoles can call up video from 22 movable cameras installed around the ship, allowing real-time monitoring of machinery spaces, gas turbines, steering gear and other areas. Navigation displays feature inputs from multiple sources, including radars and other sensors.
The integrated control systems are possible courtesy of six miles of newly installed fiber optic cable, replacing about five miles of copper wiring, that enabled installation of a new Gigabit Ethernet Digital Multiplexing System (GEDMS) - the backbone of the new digital control systems.
The ship's Central Control Station, heart of propulsion and damage control, was also thoroughly modernized, with new Universal Control Consoles replacing earlier gear. 
Chief Gas Turbine System Technician (Electrical) Anthony Lentz called up a camera to peer into the casing of one of the ship's four LM2500 gas turbines.
"This system is better," Lentz acknowledged, but it requires a different approach to fixing problems.
"I prided myself on not needing any outside help," he said, but modern systems require more assistance.
Now, for many propulsion issues, "we have to reach back to a group in Philadelphia," said Capt. Brian Eckerle, the Navy's destroyer and cruiser modification point man at Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA).
The modernization efforts extend to habitability upgrades as well. A new, all-electric galley tailored for healthy, low-fat cooking has been installed. A former berthing area in the aft section of the ship has been replaced with an exercise workout room and crew lounge - welcome additions to a warship where creature comforts are scarce. And most of the ship's berthing areas have been renewed.
Each ship's modification upgrades are being done in two parts - an initial hull, mechanical and electrical (HM&E) upgrade, and a combat systems upgrade. The Burke is the first Atlantic Fleet ship to undergo the destroyer modifications, closely following the San Diego-based John Paul Jones of the Pacific Fleet.
Although the Norfolk and San Diego programs were separately bid, the multihull winner in both fleet concentration areas was BAE Systems. The BAE yards in each port were able to share expertise and resources, said Russell Tjepkema, a former Navy big-deck amphibious ship commander who's now general manager of BAE Systems Norfolk.
Work teams from each yard were in constant contact, he said, allowing lessons-learned to quickly be applied.
The destroyer Stout entered the BAE Norfolk yard in August for its HM&E upgrade, and the Barry was dry-docked in early September. In San Diego, the Benfold is finishing up its overhaul.
"We're starting to hit our stride now," Tjepkema said.
A walk around the Stout showed the scale of the work being done. Shipyard workers and sailors swarmed over the ship, which was covered in scaffolding. Both propeller shafts have been removed for refurbishment. Central Control and the bridge were gutted as workers threaded new fiber-optic cable. Before long, holes will be cut in the ship's side for old consoles to be removed and new ones loaded on.
The work is expected to take about six months in the shipyard, although some delays will take place due to disruption in August from Hurricane Irene. All work was suspended as topside gear was taken in and secured, then replaced after the storm passed. A revised work schedule is being developed to handle the disruption, Eckerle said.
The John Paul Jones will be the first destroyer to get the full two-part upgrade, and is scheduled to receive its combat systems modifications next year. The Arleigh Burke will have to wait for 2014 to get the second dose. The differences are usually due to operational commitments.
The upgrades are scheduled to be applied to the first 28 ships of the class, through the Porter (DDG 78). Those Arleigh Burke-class ships are known as Flight I and Flight II - all recognizable due to the absence of a helicopter hangar. The last ships aren't scheduled to receive their final upgrades until 2022. Future plans could extend the mods to Flight IIA ships.
"We're catching these destroyers right at their designed midlife," said Rear Adm. Jim McManamon, NAVSEA's deputy commander for surface warfare. The upgrades, he said, will add about 15 years to each ship's operational effectiveness.
The Navy plans to keep each destroyer in service for at least 35 years.
"This ensures I'll meet that," McManamon said. "We're trying to use a cost-efficient way to make sure we meet that service life."
And, he added, "if 10 years from now we do want to add extra life, I'm now in a position to do that."
The destroyer upgrades also allowed some other problems with the ships to be fixed, including adding structural strength to correct buckling in the bows.
Other improvements are also helping.
"Good, solid wireless communications for work teams: boarding teams, security teams," have been a major improvement, McManamon said. "Those kind of things you can't put a dollar sign on, but sailors see it as useful, making their workdays better."
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