US Navy's new destroyer program aims to break 30‑year slump

Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are the true workhorses of the US Navy. Developed in the 1980s and introduced into service in 1991, these ships were the first designed at the project stage to incorporate the AEGIS combat management system. The Ticonderoga-class cruisers, accepted into service a few years earlier, were retrofitted for this purpose.

The Arleigh Burke ships are considered successful, as evidenced by the 74 units built, with eight more under construction and additional ones planned. Current plans anticipate that a total of 99 destroyers will eventually emerge from the shipyards.

Unfortunately, American guided missile destroyers are not without weaknesses. They were designed based on Cold War assumptions, and their relatively small hulls impose limitations. As further modernizations require more installations that need more power to operate, these constraints become more apparent.

This is why the United States has been working for over 30 years on a next-generation missile destroyer, albeit unsuccessfully, as evident from the failures of programs like DD-21 and DD(X). Even the DD-1000 program, which resulted in the futuristic Zumwalt-class destroyers, was halted after only three units — instead of the planned 32 — were produced.

Meanwhile, the design of the Arleigh Burke ships — despite ongoing modernization efforts — continues to impose compromises and limitations. This occurs despite significant changes introduced in successive variants (referred to as Flight).

While ships in the original Flight I version displaced — with a hull length of 505 feet — 9,200 tons, the latest Flight III variant has a displacement close to 11,000 tons. However, this is still insufficient, and the modernization capabilities of this design are nearing exhaustion.

As Rear Admiral William Daly noted, the average American household currently uses 40 percent more electricity than in the 1980s. The same is true for ships: new sensors, communication systems, and electronic warfare systems require progressively more power. The demand for power further increases with the installment of energy weapons, such as combat lasers.

At the same time — as demonstrated by recent months of US Navy operations in the Middle East — effectively countering current and future threats necessitates the use of new means.

During the Houthi attack defenses American ships fired at least 120 SM-2 missiles, 80 SM-6 missiles, 160 Mark 45 naval gun rounds (5 inches), and 20 ESSM and SM-3 missiles. The total cost exceeded a billion dollars, necessitating replenishment of missile inventories.

The solution to some of these challenges is energy weapons, which — despite many reservations — will eventually be integrated onto American ship decks as standard solutions. They will then require more power than older ship installations can provide.

The ambitious response to this challenge is the development of an entirely new, futuristic guided missile destroyer under the DDG(X) program. The goal is not only to replace the current destroyers but also to take over the role of the retired Ticonderoga-class cruisers, particularly in air defense.

The classification of these ships is purely nominal: class names do not reflect the differences in size or purpose. Ticonderoga-class cruisers were created as a modernization of Spruance-class destroyers, Arleigh Burke Flight III destroyers have cruiser-level displacement, and Zumwalt-class destroyers are significantly larger than American cruisers.

New ships — formally developed as destroyers — with a displacement of 14,900 tons will also exceed the old cruisers (Ticonderoga-class has a displacement of about 11,000 tons).

For a long time, speculation about DDG(X) destroyers was based on outdated data and graphics, but a new, updated visualization was revealed at the farewell of an American commander. Many significant changes have been introduced in the concept.

The most noticeable change is the absence of the bow gun turret. The ship does not feature a combat laser, but the need for energy surpluses to power equipment and weapons was emphasized by Rear Admiral Daly. The main armament will be a 96-cell Mark 41 VLS launcher, part of which can be replaced with newer, larger G-VLS launchers, enabling the launch of new hypersonic missiles.

An important modification is the possibility of installing an additional hull section called the Destroyer Payload Module — an extra 82 feet of space that can be allocated for additional launchers or equipment for handling maritime drones, depending on the needs.

The iconic last-chance weapon of the US Navy — Phalanx CIWS artillery systems with a six-barrel, rotating M61 Vulcan cannon (0.8 inches) — will also be replaced. Designed to shoot down anti-ship missiles, motorboats, or drones at close range, the Phalanx has a firing rate of 4,500 rounds per minute. On new ships, these systems will be replaced by the RIM-116 RAM missile system.

All these revolutionary changes are to be implemented on a ship whose construction has not yet begun. The introduction of the first unit is currently postponed from the original 2028 to the 2030s.

To minimize the risk of failure, sensors and combat management system elements intended for DDG(X) ships are gradually being implemented on currently constructed Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. This ensures proposed solutions are tested in advance, providing time to refine the final weapons — both energy and hypersonic — for the new ships.

This is critically important because the US Navy no longer has time for further failed development programs. The core of the American fleet consists of ships designed during the Cold War, which — despite modernization — increasingly fall short of the realities of the third decade of the 21st century.

The withdrawal of Spruance-class destroyers and Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates, the pending retirement of Ticonderoga-class cruisers (though they will not be scrapped, but preserved for potential conflict), complications with FFG(X) frigates, and the costly, controversial LCS shipbuilding program all affect the capabilities of the US Navy.

Meanwhile, a potential adversary, the Chinese Navy, is not idle, building dozens of new and presumably modern ships. Although their real capabilities remain unknown, they pose a challenge the US Navy intends to meet. New, numerous ships are indispensable in this situation.