Kidd-class destroyer

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U.S. class of guided-missile destroyers

title: "Kidd-class destroyer" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["cold-war-destroyers-of-the-united-states", "destroyer-classes", "kidd-class-destroyers", "gas-turbine-ships"] description: "U.S. class of guided-missile destroyers" topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kidd-class_destroyer" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary U.S. class of guided-missile destroyers ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox ship"]

FieldValue
section1{{Infobox ship/image
imageUSS Scott DDG-995.jpg
image_captionUSS Scott on 21 March 1986
section2{{Infobox ship/class overview
nameKidd-class destroyer
buildersIngalls Shipbuilding, MS (4)
operators*
class_before
class_after
subclasses
built_range1978–1982
in_commission_range*1981–1999 (United States Navy)
total_ships_completed4
total_ships_active4 (Taiwan)
section3{{Infobox ship/characteristics
typeGuided-missile destroyer
displacement*Light: 7289 t
*Full: {{convert9783
*Dead Weight: {{convert2494
length563 ft
beam55 ft
draught31.5 ft
power3 × Allison 501-K17 Model 119 ship service gas turbine generators (7.5 MW)
propulsion4 × General Electric LM2500 gas turbines, 2 shafts, 80000 shp
speed33 kn
range*6000 nmi at 20 kn
*{{convert3300
complement28 officers; 320 enlisted
sensors*SPS-48E 3D Air Search Radar
*2 × SPG-51D Missile Control Radar<ref name":0"
EW*AN/SLQ-32(V)3 OUTBOARD II EW Suite
armament*2 × 5-inch (127mm) 54 calibre Mark 45 dual purpose guns
aircraft1 SH-3 helicopter or 2 SH-2 Seasprite LAMPS helicopters
aircraft_facilitiesFlight deck and enclosed hangar for up to two medium-lift helicopters
::

|section1={{Infobox ship/image | image = USS Scott DDG-995.jpg | image_caption = USS Scott on 21 March 1986

|section2={{Infobox ship/class overview | name = Kidd-class destroyer | builders = Ingalls Shipbuilding, MS (4) | operators = *

  • (as ) | class_before = | class_after = | subclasses = | built_range = 1978–1982 | in_commission_range = *1981–1999 (United States Navy)
  • 2005–present (Republic of China Navy) | total_ships_building = | total_ships_planned = | total_ships_completed = 4 | total_ships_canceled = | total_ships_active = 4 (Taiwan) | total_ships_laid_up = | total_ships_lost = | total_ships_retired = | total_ships_preserved =

|section3={{Infobox ship/characteristics | type = Guided-missile destroyer | displacement = *Light: 7289 t

The Kidd-class destroyers are a series of four guided-missile destroyers (DDGs) based on the . In contrast to their predecessor's focus on anti-submarine warfare, the Kidds were designed as more advanced multipurpose ships with the addition of considerably enhanced anti-aircraft capabilities. Originally ordered for the former Imperial Iranian Navy, the contracts were canceled when the 1979 Iranian Revolution began, and the ships were completed for the United States Navy. They were decommissioned in 1999 and sold to Taiwan, where they have served in the Republic of China Navy as the Kee Lung class since 2005.

History

These destroyers were originally ordered by the last Shah of Iran for service in the Persian Gulf in an air defence role around 1973/74. The original order of six ships was tentatively assigned hull numbers DD 993–998 by the U.S. Navy but it was reduced to four ships after U.S. Congress declined to halt the original production run of 30 Spruance ships. Compared to the preceding Spruance class, they retained the former's anti-submarine capabilities while adding two Tartar-D missile launchers for the Mark 26/Standard anti-aircraft missile system. In order to operate more effectively in the Middle East, they also had four air conditioning plants to the Spruances' three, additional dust separators on their gas turbines' air intakes, and increased water distillation capacity. The Shah was overthrown in the Iranian Revolution, prior to Iran accepting delivery of the ships, causing the United States Navy to integrate the vessels into its own fleet in 1981–82 as the Kidd class.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/Kidd_class_vs_Spruance_class.jpg" caption="6}}."] ::

On 3 February 1979, the Iranian government canceled the second two ships in the class, signing a memorandum of understanding indicating that they were available for acquisition by the U.S. Navy. On 21 February. 1979, the Iranian Prime Minister notified the U.S. government that Iran intended to terminate the contract of the first two ships, officially cancelling delivery on 8 March 1979.

Each ship in the class was named after a U.S. Navy Admiral who had died in combat in the Pacific in World War II:

Because they were equipped with heavy-duty air conditioning and other features that made them suitable in hot climates, they tended to be used in the Middle East, specifically the Persian Gulf itself. During their service with the U.S. Navy from the 1980s to the late 1990s, the ships were popularly known as the "Ayatollah" class.

In 1988–90, the Kidds received the "New Threat Upgrade", which allowed cooperative engagement with Aegis cruisers, enabling the cruisers to control the Kidds surface-to-air missiles in flight while the destroyers remained electronically silent. However, the arrival of the Aegis-equipped destroyers led to the accelerated retirement of the Kidd class.

All four ships were decommissioned from the U.S. Navy in the late 1990s and were initially offered for sale to Australia in 1997 for A$30 million each. The Royal Australian Navy was a strong supporter of buying the Kidd-class destroyers to replace the Perth class as their air warfare ships. In 1999, the offer was rejected, based on extensive problems the Royal Australian Navy had encountered during the acquisition of two surplus s from the U.S. Navy in 1994.

After the Australian refusal, the four ships were offered to Greece, which also refused.

Sale and reactivation

|section1={{Infobox ship/image | image = ROCS Ma Kong (DDG-1805).jpg | image_caption = ROCS Ma Kung in 25 August 2018

|section2={{Infobox ship/class overview | name = Kee Lung-class destroyer | builders = Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Mississippi | operators = * (as )

| class_before = | class_after = | subclasses = | built_range = 1978–1982 | in_commission_range = *1981–1999 (United States Navy)

  • 2005–present (Republic of China Navy) | total_ships_building = | total_ships_planned = | total_ships_completed = 4 | total_ships_canceled = | total_ships_active = 4 (Taiwan) | total_ships_laid_up = | total_ships_lost = | total_ships_retired = | total_ships_preserved =

|section3={{Infobox ship/characteristics | type = Guided-missile destroyer | displacement = *Light: 6950 t

In 2001, the U.S. authorized the reactivation and sale of all four ships to Taiwan (Republic of China). All four have been transferred to the Republic of China Navy under the Kuang Hua VII program. They were sold for a total price of US$732 million with upgraded hardware, overhaul, activation, and training, and included a reduced missile loadout of 148 SM-2 Block IIIA and 32 RGM-84L Block II Harpoon anti-ship missiles. The reactivation was done in Charleston, South Carolina, by VSE/BAV.

''Kee Lung''-class destroyers

The first two ships, ex-Scott and ex-Callaghan, arrived at Su-ao, a military port in eastern Taiwan, in December 2005, and were named and in a commissioning ceremony on 17 December 2005. Following the tradition of ship class naming, ROCN has referred to these vessels as Kee Lung-class destroyers, with the ships named after military ports in Taiwan. The remaining two units, ex-Kidd and ex-Chandler, were delivered in 2006, and named and , respectively.

The opposition-led Legislature Yuan originally allocated only enough money to purchase half of the SM-2 missiles that the destroyers can carry; a further purchase of 100 supplemental SM-2MRs was included in the 2007 annual budget to ensure all four ships had a full load of SM-2.

By end of 2008, Su Ao was spotted to have eight HF-3 AShMs installed in place of eight Harpoon AShMs. It has been speculated from 2014 on that a navalized Sky Bow missile system, currently planned for an upcoming shipbuilding programme that involves the procurement of up to 15 general purpose frigates and three or four air defense destroyers, will also be replacing the Standard Missile system on these vessels. No plan for any Mk 26-compatible version of the Sky Bow III missile is ever known to have existed.

In 2025 it was reported that the navy planned to upgrade the class with HF-2E missiles.

Ships in class

::data[format=table title="Ships of the ''Kidd'' destroyer class"]

NameHull no.CrestBuilderLaid downLaunchedCommissionedDecommissionedStatusDDG-993DDG-994DDG-995DDG-996
Ingalls Shipbuilding26 June 197811 August 197927 March 198112 March 1998Sold to Taiwan, 30 May 2003; commissioned as ROCS Tso Ying (DDG-1803)
23 October 19781 December 197929 August 198131 March 1998Sold to Taiwan, 30 May 2003; commissioned as ROCS Su Ao (DDG-1802)
12 February 19791 March 198024 October 198110 December 1998Sold to Taiwan, 30 May 2003; commissioned as ROCS Kee Lung (DDG-1801)
7 May 197928 June 198013 March 198223 September 1999Sold to Taiwan, 30 May 2003; commissioned as ROCS Ma Kong (DDG-1805)
::

References

Notes

References

  1. "DDG-993 KIDD-class". Global Security.
  2. Jordan, John. (1986). "An illustrated guide to modern destroyers". Prentice Hall.
  3. "DDG-993 KIDD-class".
  4. "Kidd Class". Destroyer History Foundation.
  5. Wright, Christopher C.. (1980). "U. S. Navy Shipbuilding Budgets, FY 1979/81". International Naval Research Organization.
  6. (1988). "The Encyclopedia of World Sea Power". Crescent Books.
  7. "Spruance Class".
  8. McPhedran, Ian. (5 November 1999). "Navy told US ships too risky". [[Herald Sun]].
  9. (25 May 2000). "RAN loses battle for Kidd class destroyers".
  10. In the early 1990s the Labor government of [[Paul Keating]] chose to maintain the Royal Australian Navy's existing [[Adelaide-class frigate
  11. McPhedran, ''Frigates 'can't go to war' despite $1.4bn upgrade''
  12. "DDG 1801 Keelung / Chi Teh / Kidd-class destroyers". Global Security.
  13. "KIDD Missile Destroyers (1981 - 1982)". Navypedia.
  14. "Taiwan to upgrade second-hand destroyers from US". Asia Times.
  15. "DDG-993 KIDD-class". GlobalSecurity.Org.
  16. "Vsebav completes reactivation of ex-Kidd class guided missile destroyers".
  17. "luke822's album".
  18. "台灣海軍12項造艦計畫（2016年）(ROC Navy "Year 2020" plan)".
  19. [http://www.taia.org.tw/doc/201606221644403747.pdf Industry briefing released by Navy Command Headquarters, Ministry of National Defense ROC (Traditional Chinese)]
  20. "Taiwan Resumes Work on Next-Generation 6,000-Ton Frigate Program". Naval News.

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