upgrade
DDG(X) – new US destroyer will be armed with lasers and hypersonic weapons
It’s still a concept.
© US Navy / PR
The US Navy has shown the missile destroyer of the future. DDG(X) is designed to make the Zumwalt class forget about the flop. The first ship is expected to be built later this decade.
The US has the most powerful Navy in the world. But recently she had to accept breakdowns in new construction projects. Not necessarily on the Gerald R. Ford class aircraft carriers. There were glitches, delays and cost increases, but that’s normal for a project of this size. The situation is different for the destroyers of the Zumwalt class and the small battleships of the Littoral class. The types are extremely different, but both are total failures. The first ships of the Littoral class are already being decommissioned.
Construction from 2028
The DDG(X) concept has now been introduced to fill the gap left by the Zumwalt class in planning. The new guided missile destroyer aims to bring the Navy into the future with high-powered lasers and hypersonic weapons. This is also necessary, because the Navy is still working with the ships of the Arleigh Burke class, which were first built in 1985. Of course, the ships have been modernized, but in China’s Type 055 (China celebrates the Type 055 missile destroyer) they face a heavily armed, modern opponent. Type 055 is so big and versatile that the US doesn’t call it a destroyer, but a cruiser. Russia, on the other hand, shows new plans for the Lider-class combat ships every year without mentioning the start of construction (Putin’s cruisers are supposed to block the world’s oceans with 2400 missiles).
Just a concept so far
The DDG(X) is a concept, the “X” indicates the preliminary character. Above all, the ship is an open system, it is designed in such a way that it can accommodate modules for weapon systems that do not yet exist. The new ship concept will even “integrate systems that are not under development into a new hull design”. The design will combine platform flexibility, space, weight, power and cooling to meet the demands for future combat capability that would not be possible without the new hull design, the US Navy said. “The DDG(X) platform will have the flexibility to quickly and cost-effectively upgrade to future combat systems as they become available.”
It is a basic ship whose modules can be exchanged. An important step, because only in this way is it possible to achieve a long service life of the ship and still always have modern equipment. A major challenge is the power requirement. The F-35 stealth aircraft is called a “computer that can also fly,” DDG(X) could be called a “power plant that can also swim”. It will deliver 75 megawatts of electricity, which will feed a 150-kilowatt laser and two 600-kilowatt lasers. Powerful enough to shoot down enemy missiles. These laser weapons would be ten times more powerful than today’s.
The weapon of the future?
It is hard to say today whether lasers will be the defensive weapon of the future. Their big advantage is their high speed and the fact that they don’t fire “ammunition” that could run out in battle. The disadvantage would be that they need a line of sight to the target, so low-lying weapons can fly under them. In addition, it is expected that missiles can be protected against the energy of the beam.
In addition to the lasers, launchers for rockets are to come on board. Initially there was talk of 32 vertical cells, now of only 12. New and larger hypersonic weapons are then to be fired from them. They are a US Navy response to the Russian Zircon missiles. Not only are they extremely fast, but they can change course, making them extremely difficult to intercept. The Chinese Type 055 has 112 launcher cells, but no lasers, and an additional 24 cells for anti-aircraft missiles.
Great demand
Many details are not known. It is to be expected that the range and duration of use will far exceed that of its predecessor, and that with a significantly smaller crew. Great attention should be paid to the survivability of the ship. DDG(X) should remain maneuverable and combat-capable even after hits. The first ship in the class is to be procured as early as 2028, but that is a very optimistic date.
Planned to remain in service into the 2060s, the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers will continue to be modernized. But some of the new upgrades will not integrate with the old ships. Perspectively, the US would build a large quantity of DDG(X) or a later additional type. Ultimately, all old destroyers will be replaced, along with the Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruisers.
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