The U.S. Navy seems unable to figure out what it wants from the next-generation DDG(X) destroyer.
Different conceptual designs have made the new ship’s dimensions and capabilities challenging to decipher.
On the one hand, it is good the designers and engineers are working hard on what this newfangled vessel will look like, but on the other, it is frustrating that the design keeps changing.
The new ship will be expensive and may not come to fruition due to the complexities of the latest technological innovations.
DDG(X): Latest Update in Conceptual Renderings and Design
Early this year, the Navy presented a new DDG(X) rendering.
The ship does not have the 5-inch Mark 45 Mod 4 main gun this time. Earlier renderings have included this weapon onboard.
The first rendering in 2022 showed that the vessel will have a 32-cell Mark 41 Vertical Launching System. The early attempt at the design also had AN/SLQ-32(V)7 radar arrays on the superstructure next to the two forward AN/SPY-6(V)1 radar arrays.
Now, the Navy has announced a different rendering of the DDG(X), and there are wholesale changes.
There is no Mark 45 Mod 4 main gun, and other modifications have been reconsidered.
“The existing Mark 41 VLS modules have been rearranged, now installed in what appears to be four 8×2 cell modules stacked front to back. This design allows for additional room for larger diameter VLS modules in the future,” according to Naval News.
The AN/SLQ-32(V)7 ECM arrays have been removed, but the forward-facing AN/SLQ-32(V)7 array remains.
“The two Mk-144 Guided Missile Launchers (GMLs) sit higher on the ship. The exhaust funnel arrangement has been modified, and new bow-facing vents have been added,” Naval News explained.This Will Be a Long Process
The Navy is expected to modify this design until it gets what it wants. The ship is not expected to be built until the 2030s, with construction beginning in 2032.
This program will be complicated as technology changes and new weapon systems come online for the maritime branch.
It’s Fine to Develop New Lasers and Ship-launched Hypersonic Missiles
The Navy will also likely decide whether the futuristic ship will use a laser to counter enemy missiles and drones.
The vessel may also be able to launch hypersonic missiles.
DDG(X) will need a new Integrated Power and Energy System (IPES) for better propulsion and for the vast amount of electricity needed to use directed energy, new radar, and vertical launching systems.
Critics of DDG(X) Have Sticker Shock
The cost of the ship is eye-watering. Each new destroyer could set the Navy back as much as $3.2 billion each.
I’m concerned about this program due to the cost and design changes. Turning the DDG(X) into a technology demonstrator and developing new systems to deploy on existing ships would make better sense.
The Navy could thus save a significant amount of money to plow into other destroyers and frigates, not to mention new carriers and submarines.
Save Money for New Aircraft Carriers and Submarines
The Navy needs more new ships to keep up with China, but I’m not sure if DDG(X) is the answer.
The Navy would be better served by investing more funds into the new Ford-class aircraft carriers and building additional fast attack submarines.
DDG(X) will be an escort ship in a carrier strike group if it comes to fruition, so it is not entirely mission-critical.
Congress and the Trump administration will make tough choices in the coming years, and this program may be on the chopping block. It is just too complex, with many systems that will be difficult to integrate. It is OK to continue developing directed energy and hypersonic missile options for warships.
This is where the future is heading in naval warfare. Simply take these systems and place them on existing ships. This testbed option will be better for cost control and efficiency.
I see the cost of DDG(X) running sky-high, as there could also be the usual delays and cost overruns that any new ship must endure. The DDG(X) has some good ideas, but these are not enough to save the program.
Plus, the construction timeline is just too far away. The DDG(X) must survive the Trump administration, at least two future presidents, and multiple different Members of Congress being elected or leaving service on Capitol Hill.
There is no way DDG(X) will be able to navigate its way politically in Washington, DC, and survive the usual rounds of budget cuts, changes in strategic direction, new threat environments, and the ebbs and flows of technological innovation. The Navy should make the DDG(X) into a test bed and integrate the latest systems on ships already in service.
About the Author: Dr. Brent M. Eastwood
Brent M. Eastwood, PhD, is the author of Don’t Turn Your Back On the World: a Conservative Foreign Policy and Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare, plus two other books. Brent was the founder and CEO of a tech firm that predicted world events using artificial intelligence. He served as a legislative fellow for U.S. Senator Tim Scott and advised the senator on defense and foreign policy issues. He has taught at American University, George Washington University, and George Mason University. Brent is a former U.S. Army Infantry officer. He can be followed on X @BMEastwood.
