US Navy to launch development of new destroyer DDG (X)

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USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000) - lead ship of the project of the same name

The US Navy is planning the next update of the surface forces. This time it is proposed to develop and bring to the series a new destroyer project. A new stage of work on the project with the working title DDG (X) will start next year, and its result will be the final appearance of the ship, plans for its further development and plans for serial construction.

On the eve of the start


The development and construction of a new destroyer to replace existing US Navy ships has been discussed over the past several years. The Zumwalt project did not live up to the hopes placed on it, and now the Navy plans to create a new ship of the same class, devoid of the shortcomings of its predecessors. In the recent past, these discussions have reached real steps, and now a new phase of work is expected to start.



At the previous stages of the DDG (X) program, several organizations of the Navy studied the existing experience in the construction and operation of ships, the needs fleet and industry opportunities. In addition, several experiments were carried out in the past year. Based on the results of such studies, some recommendations were developed that will be accepted for implementation at the next stages of the project.



Design look of the destroyer USS Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG 1002) - the last representative of the Zumwalt project

In late May, the Pentagon released a draft military budget for the next FY2022. This document provides for significant spending on the further development of the fleet, incl. due to promising projects. So, for the first stage of the development of the DDG (X) program, they requested $ 79,7 million. For this money, structures from the Navy and contractors will complete the formation of the ship's appearance, as well as determine other aspects of the project.

At the next stage, the competitive development of projects will begin. The Navy wants to get several variants of the ship, from which they will choose the most successful one. In addition, a "combined" design method is not excluded. In this case, several organizations-competitors will present their projects, and the fleet will determine the most successful components. Then these solutions will be combined in the final version of the project.

The timing of the program has so far been determined only approximately. The design is going to be completed no later than 2028. At the same time, the first order for construction should appear. They want to receive the lead destroyer in 2032, and the series will stretch at least until the forties. The terms and volumes of mass construction have not yet been determined.

Navy wishes


The first ships of the DDG (X) type will enter service only in the distant future, and they will have to serve them for several decades. During this time, the strategic situation and the needs of the fleet can seriously change. For this reason, the Navy requires the maximum possible modernization potential to be incorporated into the new project.


Destroyer USS Daniel Inouye (DDG-118), the penultimate ship of the Arleigh Burke, transferred to the US Navy

It is proposed to create not just a ship that meets the current requirements, but a sea platform capable of carrying the necessary types of weapons and various equipment. At the construction stage, such a destroyer will receive an up-to-date set of systems and assemblies, and during subsequent upgrades it will be possible to re-equip it, and this process will be simplified and accelerated.

It was mentioned earlier that the development of such a platform will use the experience of the Arleigh Burke and Zumwalt projects. How exactly it will be applied, and where it will lead, is unclear. The destroyers of the two actual types differ significantly from each other, and it is rather difficult to predict the appearance of the ship based on them. For example, we can assume that DDG (X) will receive "classic" hull lines and a characteristic unobtrusive superstructure similar to the previous project.

It is proposed to develop a new integrated power system with high performance. In its creation, technologies borrowed from the projects of the Columbia submarine, the Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier and the Zumwalt destroyer can be used. Such a power plant should provide a high speed and economy, allowing to increase the cruising range.


Ship USS Delbert D. Black (DDG-119) on sea trials. In September 2020, he was accepted into service.

In addition, it is necessary to create a significant reserve of capacities for modern and advanced airborne equipment. Modern ships carry a lot of electronic and computing facilities, as well as other energy consumers. In the future, the demand for electricity will only grow, which must be taken into account now.

At the first stage, the DDG (X) destroyer can receive electronic weapons and other equipment borrowed from the existing Arleigh Burke ships. In the future, the development and implementation of new samples will be carried out. At the same time, the Navy cannot yet say what the results of such modernization will be.

A similar approach will be taken in the field of weapons. The ship will receive universal launchers with the ability to use all the main missile weapons of the US Navy. They will be complemented by new designs that will be developed by the time the first DDG (X) appears. Then the complex of weapons will be developed, while maintaining and increasing the capabilities to combat a wide range of targets.

DDG (X) and modern fleet


Currently, the US Navy has 70 destroyers of two projects. The overwhelming majority (68 units) are ships of the Arleigh Burke class of various series and modifications, including the latter. Also, only two ships of the Zumwalt type are in service. In the near future, the fleet will receive a third pennant of this type.

US Navy to launch development of new destroyer DDG (X)

USS Chaffee (DDG-90) launches Tomahawk Block V rocket, November 2020

The construction of the Arleigh Burke destroyers continues. There are contracts for 13 such ships, of which 8 are at various stages of construction. A few days ago, the destroyer Jack H. Lukas, the 75th ship of the project and the first in the new Flight III modification, was launched. The development of the next option has already begun. According to existing plans, the construction of such destroyers will continue until the thirties. The last ships are to leave service only in the seventies.

In the context of ships with missile weapons, it is also necessary to recall the Ticonderoga-class cruisers, which differ from destroyers in their large displacement and, accordingly, in a larger ammunition load and wider combat capabilities. 22 of these ships remain in service, adopted by the Navy in 1986-94. According to the new budget proposals, in 2022-26. half of the cruisers will be decommissioned due to moral and physical obsolescence.

Thus, by the time the first DDG (X) ships appear, the surface forces of the US Navy will have a predictable appearance. There will still be three Zumwalt-class destroyers in the ranks, and the number of active Arleigh Burke may reach 75-80 units. At the same time, the existing destroyers will have to take on the tasks of 11 decommissioned cruisers, since the development of a new ship of this class is not planned.


Cruiser USS Port Royal (CG-73), the last representative of the Ticonderoga project

It's not hard to see where the newest DDG (X) will need to be. They will have to simultaneously supplement the available destroyers, as well as make up for the losses in the form of decommissioned cruisers. In addition, from a certain time, the new DDG (X) will have to replace the Arleigh Burke ships in production. The rate of obsolescence of the latter in the future will determine the required volumes and rates of construction of new ships.

It is obvious that in the distant future, the new DDG (X) will gradually replace the outdated Arleigh Burke and after that will become the main destroyers of the US Navy. However, this will not happen until the middle of the century, when the production of new ships picks up a sufficient pace, and the old destroyers begin to be massively decommissioned. It is noteworthy that the newest Zumwalts will not affect these processes in any way due to the extremely small number.

Plans for the future


The naval forces are a key component of the US military and receive the greatest possible attention to their development. Right now, several projects of promising ships are in the early stages at once, and soon work on the new destroyer DDG (X) will enter the active phase. Their result in the early thirties will be the lead ship.

The Navy and shipbuilders are facing quite complex tasks. They will have to not only develop a ship, but also determine the development paths of the surface fleet for the next few decades. In addition, they will create the foundation for future upgrades. However, the main task for the near future will be to obtain the necessary funding. The DDG (X) program was included in the draft military budget, which must now go through Congress. Whether the legislators will approve the creation of a new destroyer - it will become known in a few months.
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36 comments
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  1. -9
    10 June 2021 18: 07
    Noble will be cut.
    1. -3
      10 June 2021 20: 14
      Where are we to them laughing laughing laughing
  2. -2
    10 June 2021 18: 08
    As I understand it, 80 million is just for pencils ?! We are waiting for Zamvolt 2.0! More electromagnetic guns, more angles, more expensive, more useless! If only ours would not have thought of copying.
    1. +2
      10 June 2021 18: 50
      Don't underestimate your opponent. Yes Zumwalt is not a good experience, but the experience is not in vain. And the money spent not small denyuzh can pay off in the construction of new ships, taking into account this experience. Pend-o-s of course spend and saw a lot, but they can afford to print their candy wrappers ... for the time being.
    2. +2
      11 June 2021 16: 18
      Quote: Marachuh
      As I understand it, 80 million is just for pencils ?! We are waiting for Zamvolt 2.0! More electromagnetic guns, more angles, more expensive, more useless! If only ours would not have thought of copying.


      80 million for pencils is okay. Their helmets F-35 flyers initially cost about 700 thousand euros apiece. Now something about 400 thousand.
      1. +1
        11 June 2021 17: 16
        Quote: NF68
        Quote: Marachuh
        As I understand it, 80 million is just for pencils ?! We are waiting for Zamvolt 2.0! More electromagnetic guns, more angles, more expensive, more useless! If only ours would not have thought of copying.


        80 million for pencils is okay. Their helmets F-35 flyers initially cost about 700 thousand euros apiece. Now something about 400 thousand.


        Sorry. Not 700 thousand euros, but dollars.
  3. +5
    10 June 2021 18: 30
    They write about the same thing for the second day.
  4. +2
    10 June 2021 18: 34
    US Navy to launch development of new destroyer DDG (X)
    ... Who seeks will always find! Although, for some time now, they do not find what they need. It looks like they didn't go through the worst-case iteration.
  5. +8
    10 June 2021 18: 34
    Lol, the second article about this DDH, about which nothing is known, except for the allocation of $ 80 million for the concept.

    Good photos from Shanghai - 5 new frigates 054, a new UDC or DKVD laid down, 3 UDC and AV. There is nothing to discuss. Mega-exhibition in Busan, where several really cool projects were presented, ranging from the Korean national aircraft carrier (2 variants from Hyundai and Daewoo under the ongoing CVX competition), ending with new combat modules, a new Korean universal vertical installation a la MK41, and a new Makassar. Of course it doesn't deserve attention wassat ... It is better to write one more article about 80 million per concept. wink



    1. +1
      10 June 2021 19: 18
      Yes, it would be interesting to read about Asian developments in this direction in more detail.
    2. +3
      10 June 2021 19: 25
      Quote: donavi49
      Lol, the second article about this DDH, about which nothing is known, except for the allocation of $ 80 million for the concept.

      If. The news was twice, this is already the 3rd article.
      Quote: donavi49
      Korean national aircraft carrier (2 options from Hyundai and Daewoo under the ongoing CVX competition)

      Koreans are just great. They are actually building their own school of shipbuilding. The influence of the United States is obvious, but these are not copies.
      1. mvg
        +8
        10 June 2021 20: 09
        They are actually building their own school of shipbuilding.

        As if South Korea is the 2-3rd place in the world, after Japan and China .. in terms of tons of water launched per year. 300 ++ thousand tons in / and supertankers and container ships, dry cargo ships, passenger liners, military surface ships and diesel-electric submarines ... Any country can envy such shipyards.
        So they already have a shipbuilding school, and for a long time.
    3. mvg
      +2
      10 June 2021 20: 01
      It is better to write one more article about 80 million per concept.

      From memory I can give you 3-4 articles (and there are many more) when the super-author of VO Ryabov on the trail or in a couple of days, repeats a previously written news or article .. The extreme version of such a repetition is not yet a week.
    4. -1
      12 June 2021 05: 20
      It takes 3 years to build a ship. To start a tradition - 300 years. (FROM)
  6. +8
    10 June 2021 19: 23
    Take proven solutions from Arleigh Burke and forward ones from Zamwalt. Such a project can really be implemented and serialized. They will receive a high-quality reinforcement of the fleet, it looks like they want to modernize the shipyards.
    Arlie Burke will not lose its relevance for several more decades. To replace 11 Ticonderogs, you need ~ 14 Berks, it will take about 7 years. Just before the completion of the design of the new destroyer.
    It looks like after the 00s frenzy with the Zamwolts and literal ships they took their heads. We felt the danger from China and began to build really working ships. The same new frigates, development of the proven FREMM.
    1. +1
      10 June 2021 23: 38
      Take proven solutions from Arlee Burke and forward from Zamwalt


      Specialists would listen to sailors. So the shape of the Zamvolt corps has justified itself? From the point of view of electronics, it is ideal - you can't imagine better for minimizing RCS from real heights and ranges of aircraft radars and anti-ship missiles, even without an absorbing coating. Is there something wrong from a marine point of view? Well, there is seaworthiness, the layout of the insides, or something else - I don't understand this. As ? Will such buildings be built?
      1. +5
        10 June 2021 23: 44
        There are no questions about the corpus. Higher seaworthiness, the main thing is that it can launch missiles in a stronger storm than "ordinary" hulls.
        1. 0
          11 June 2021 09: 24
          Better seaworthiness can be obtained not only by increasing the size of the hull. There are other scientific methods as well. Gigantomania has not brought anyone to any good yet.
  7. 0
    10 June 2021 19: 54
    The US Navy curtailed its appetites the following year. They want to receive funding to further develop three programs: NGAD - a fighter to replace the Super Hornet, DDG (X) and the future SSN (X) to replace Columbia. There should be one program left. Most likely, the submarine will be expelled immediately this year - it is not in a hurry. But a battle could break out between the destroyer and the fighter :)
    1. 0
      11 June 2021 13: 42
      Quote: Andy J.
      They want to receive funding to further develop three programs: NGAD - a fighter to replace the Super Hornet

      Not really. This NGAD will still go to the Navy and the Air Force. If it does, of course. What I hear about him does not inspire optimism ...
      1. 0
        13 June 2021 17: 29
        NGAD for the Air Force and the Navy are two different, almost unrelated programs :)
  8. -3
    10 June 2021 22: 05
    It's not hard to see where the newest DDG (X) will need to be. They will have to simultaneously supplement the available destroyers, as well as make up for the losses in the form of decommissioned cruisers. In addition, from a certain time, the new DDG (X) will have to replace the Arleigh Burke ships in production.

    it seems that the Arlie Berkov niche will split.
    The more complex part of them will be taken over by new destroyers, which will obviously be larger, and possibly more expensive than the current destroyers.
    And simpler functions will be transferred to new frigates, much cheaper than destroyers.
    Both will be built in fairly large series.
    In the foreseeable future, the Americans will have three main types of ships - frigates, Arleigh Burke and new destroyers.
    1. 0
      11 June 2021 03: 31
      It is unlikely that frigates will have a large, by American standards, series, which is too modest for such a size, weapons, and for a mass escort like O.H. Perry is expensive.
      1. 0
        11 June 2021 05: 50
        In the foreseeable future, most of the fleet will be Arleigh Burke
        1. 0
          11 June 2021 08: 19
          As the main liberal says - definitely.
    2. -1
      11 June 2021 09: 21
      The fact that they will be much more expensive - no one doubts))) the arms lobby, in the Washington Reich Chancellery, will not sit on "starvation rations")))
  9. -1
    11 June 2021 00: 21
    Well, if it turns out to be as prohibitively expensive and useless as the Zumwalt. They wanted a wunderwaffe, which will play a significant role (ala SDI or F-117) against the background of "surviving" Russia, but that's a bummer. Everyone is trying to duplicate the old patterns ... Were in good shape, now "lazy".
  10. 0
    11 June 2021 09: 19
    This mattress huckster will have some fun. This is how much money, for many, many years. And then, the "littoral people" somehow quickly "blown away", they did not manage to earn much on the "zamvolts")))) although, not all is lost, there are "Fords" and "penguins"))))
  11. 0
    19 August 2021 12: 36
    Iron-s. He swims to swim, but he must walk.

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