Navy Lays Groundwork for Larger, More Lethal Next-Gen Destroyer

[rangerrebew]

Navy Lays Groundwork for Larger, More Lethal Next-Gen Destroyer
6/23/2023
By Josh Luckenbaugh   
 n

The Navy has begun development of a future guided missile destroyer that will bring increased firepower and efficiency to the fleet, even as the service is still in the midst of constructing Flight III of its Arleigh Burke-class large surface combatants.

While the Navy considers the Arleigh Burke-class Flight III destroyer the world’s most capable surface combatant platform, the service “has maximized the space, weight, power and cooling capabilities” through 30 years of upgrades to the hull form. Hence, the need for the Navy’s Next-Generation Large Surface Combatant program, or DDG(X), said a Navy spokesperson in an email.

The first of the Arleigh Burke-class ships was commissioned on July 4, 1991, and the destroyer since then has gone through several evolutions. The latest, Flight III, is centered around the Raytheon-made SPY-6 air and missile defense radar, which enables the ship to “simultaneously perform” anti-air warfare and ballistic missile defense and “satisfies the Navy’s critical need for an enhanced surface combatant Integrated Air and Missile Defense capability,” a service fact file said.

https://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2023/6/23/navy-lays-groundwork-for-larger-more-lethal-next-gen-destroyer

[rangerrebew]

Didn't they say almost the same thing about the Zumwalt class?

[PeteS in CA]

While the military has produced some weapons systems that have lasted for decades, being upgraded along the way, many reach a wall where they cannot be reasonably upgraded further. It looks like the Arleigh Burkes have reached that point with the power and cooling systems that could fit within the displacement. So while DDGs of the class will served for years to come, the need is real and the design and build process needs to be started before those later ships of the class get long-in-the-tooth.

What the surface navy has done poorly in recent decades is actually putting a new design into the water that fills a needed role and isn't a POS (e.g. the failed Zumwalt class and the two failed LCS classes).