[1] USS Oscar Austin is the first ship of the Flight IIA subclass of the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer.

Compared to previous Burkes, Flight IIAs are 4 feet 6 inches (1.37 m) longer, displace about 900 tons more, carry six more Vertical Launching System cells, and have a hangar that can house two SH-60 Seahawk helicopters.

To prevent the additional superstructure aft from fouling radar returns, the rear-facing SPY-1D panels are one deck higher.

She is one of two Flight IIA ships using the older 5-inch/54 caliber naval gun, the other being USS Roosevelt (DDG-80), which cannot use certain advanced munitions that require the longer 5 in/62 caliber gun mounted on succeeding ships of the class like the USS Winston S. Churchill.

USS Oscar Austin's maiden deployment in late 2002 resulted in her participation in the opening strikes of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The coat of arms in full color as in the blazon, upon a white background enclosed within a dark blue oval border edged on the outside with a gold rope and bearing the inscription "USS Oscar Austin" at the top and "DDG 79" in the base all gold.