The Aegis Combat System of the US Navy's Arleigh Burke-class destroyers gives them a proven edge in capability when compared to other nations' ships, such as China's Type 055 cruiser, according to observers.

The USS Mason and other Arleigh Burke-class destroyers in recent weeks demonstrated their capabilities in real-life combat scenarios in the Middle East.

The Mason on December 28 shot down an anti-ship missile and a drone fired by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis in the southern Red Sea, according to US Central Command (CENTCOM).

The incident was one of the at least two dozen illegal attacks conducted by the Houthis against international shipping since October 19.

The Mason, along with USS Thomas Hudner and USS Carney, has shot down a number of Houthi-fired drones and missiles, and was the first US ship to shoot down Houthi weapons back in October when it used SM-2s to take down Houthi-fired land-attack missiles and a number of drones, USNI News reported at the time.

The USS Mason is part of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group, which departed in October for a scheduled deployment and crossed the Strait of Hormuz into the Arabian Gulf last month.

The Eisenhower is currently on station off the coast of Yemen, a defense official confirmed to USNI News December 28.

The Mason has been an integral part of the US Navy's efforts to protect key trade routes in the region and to support vessels in need.

It is a member of the newly redesigned Arleigh Burke Flight IIA sub-class of destroyers reconfigured to better adapt to littoral warfare.

Employing all-steel construction, Flight IIA destroyers host crews of about 330 sailors and measure 509.5 feet (155.29 meters) long.

The USS Mason is outfitted with side-by-side helicopter hangars housing two Seahawk SH-60 helicopters and possesses an enlarged flight deck.

Other Flight IIA enhancements include organic mine hunting and area theater ballistic missile defense.

The Mason is equipped with Mk 41 vertical launch systems (VLSs) for a total of 96 cells capable of defeating ballistic missiles, as well as air, sea and subsea threats.

Flight IIA destroyers center on the integrated Aegis Combat System, which consists of advanced command and control and Anti-Air Warfare and Anti-Submarine Warfare systems as well as the all-weather, long-range Tomahawk Weapon System, which can conduct land attacks.

An edge over Chinese cruisers

The Aegis Combat System and the ability to link sensor data from multiple sources, fire-control, air and cruise missile defense, ballistic missile defense and interceptor missiles are what give the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers their edge in combat, according to experts.

While ships like the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 055 Renhai-class guided-missile cruisers may be larger, "the real margin of superiority would likely pertain to the extent to which each platform were [sic] able to truly network and coordinate with other assets across a multi-domain maritime warfare environment," Kris Osborn, the president of the Center for Military Modernization, wrote last June.

The Type 055 displaces 12,000–13,000 tons -- compared to the Arleigh Burke's 8,400–9,900 tons -- and is armed with 112 universal VLS missile tubes, according to USNI News.

The launchers carry a mix of HHQ-9B surface-to-air missiles, which have a range in excess of 100 nautical miles, and YJ-18 antiship cruise missiles with a 290-nautical-mile range.

A divergence in weapons between the two ships is in the anti-ballistic missile (ABM) arena. US Aegis ships can be equipped with the RIM-161 SM-3 missile which can intercept medium range ballistic missiles, while China is not thought to field an equivalent system, according to Naval News.

"The destroyer which best integrates with aerial surveillance and attack systems, unmanned platforms and submarines is likely to close the 'sensor-to-shooter' curve faster and therefore prevail," Osborn wrote.

"Given these variables, a direct one-for-one, destroyer against destroyer comparison might not accurately address the question of superiority but rather an integrated look at how each platform can operate synergystically [sic] with air and undersea platforms, integrate command and control, operate impactful layered ship defenses and more efficiently link surveillance nodes with weapons and fire control for precision targeting and rapid attack."

While US officials have raised concerns that China is on pace to double its fleet of destroyers within just the next five years, "having more destroyers does not necessarily equate to any kind of maritime superiority if they cannot compete with the range, precision, networking and overall capability of US destroyers," according to Osborn.

Developing capabilities

The performance of the Aegis Combat System aboard the USS Mason and in the Red Sea is a testament to its capabilities compared to those of untested ships such as the Type 055.

The experience gained from its usage will also likely be used to further develop the next generation Flight III of the Arleigh Burke class.

The foundation of the Flight III is the AN/SPY-6 (V)1 Air and Missile Defense Radar system, which is reportedly 30 times more sensitive than its predecessor and can enable the detection of enemy objects and threats half the size and at twice the distance that previous radars spotted.

Also key to the strength of the Arleigh Burke class are the US Navy's partnerships with allied nations.

Aegis is used by the US Navy and the navies of Japan, Spain, Norway, South Korea and Australia. The Canadian navy plans to use it.

To bolster the US destroyers in the Red Sea against continued Houthi attacks on commercial ships, the United States on December 18 announced the establishment of a new multinational security initiative.

The initiative, dubbed Operation Prosperity Guardian, brings together more than a dozen countries to jointly address security challenges in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

The initiative will operate under the auspices of the 39-member Combined Maritime Forces and the leadership of its Combined Task Force 153, which focuses on security in the Red Sea.