USS Arthur W. Radford (DD-968) was an American missile destroyer, the keel of which was laid in 1974, was launched in March 1975 and entered service with the US Navy in 1977. The total length of the ship was 172 meters and a width of 16.8 meters. Full displacement reached approx. 8,000 tons, and maximum speed - up to 32-33 knots. At the time of launch, the destroyer was armed with: two 127 mm Mark 45 cannons, two 20 mm Vulcan Phalanx sets, a single 8-guide ASROC rocket-torpedo launcher or a single 8-guide Sea Sparrow rocket launcher. The ship could also operate two SH-60 Seahawk (LAMPS III) helicopters.
The USS Arthur W. Radford (DD-968) was one of 31 Spruance-class ships. Ships of this type were designed and built as specialized ZOP (anti-submarine) units dedicated to the protection of aircraft carriers and being part of larger US Navy teams. They replaced the class destroyers Gearing and Allen M. Summer. Units of this class were built modularly, which facilitated their modernization during the service. One of the ships of this class was the USS Arthur W. Radford. The vessel was built at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi. Shortly after entering service, she participated in a NATO exercise in the North Atlantic, and in 1978 participated in a maneuver code-named Northern Wedding. At the turn of 1989-1990, the ship underwent modernization, as a result of which it received, among others, Mk.41 VLS missile launchers. In 1991, it operated in the Persian Gulf area as part of the cover of the USS Eisenhower aircraft carrier. In May 1997, the AEM / S mast was installed on the USS Arthur W. Radford. The ship was decommissioned in 2003.