The U.S. Navy’s next-generation DDG(X) is well underway in its design and feasibility phase, and the program office has gone through various renderings and conceptual designs as work is done to refine the ship’s broad design. Last year the U.S. Navy opened a land based test site at Naval Surface Warfare Center, Philadelphia Division to support this effort.
The first DDG(X) rendering, presented at SNA 2022, features a 5-inch Mark 45 Mod 4 main gun forward of the bow mounted 32-cell Mark 41 VLS. It also features three AN/SLQ-32(V)7 arrays on the superstructure next to the two forward AN/SPY-6(V)1 radar arrays. According to the U.S. Navy, this design was purely conceptual and rendered prior to a final decision.
The latest rendering, revealed by Program Executive Office (PEO) Ships during a ceremony for outgoing DDG(X) program manager Captain Matt Schroeder, features significant changes to weapon systems onboard the ship, including an overhaul of major weapon systems. While the aft end of the ship is hidden, the bow and superstructure offer insight into changes made during the design and feasibility phase by the U.S. Navy, HII, and Gibbs & Cox.
The new rendering strikes the 5-inch Mark 45 gun entirely, a staple of U.S. Navy large surface combatants. 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 like Lockheed Martin’s G-VLS which Naval News covered here. The new rendering also appears to strike the 150 kilowatt laser that was mounted behind the VLS cells in the 2022 rendering, leaving that mounting area without any fitted weapon systems.
The front-facing bridge windows have been shrunk or stricken entirely. The starboard and port facing AN/SLQ-32(V)7 ECM arrays have also been removed or relocated, replaced by new unidentifiable modules. The front facing AN/SLQ-32(V)7 array is still in place. Several new radomes have also been added above the bridge on the front deckhouse.
The rear deckhouse has also received significant design changes. 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. A new spherical radome is located where two AN/SPG-62 illuminators were located on the 2022 rendering, following the design philosophy of the FFG-62 class in striking radar illuminators from the requirements given the proliferation of active homing missiles in the U.S. Navy.
The entire superstructure appears to be more swept back and shortened in height, enhancing stealth properties while keeping the enclosed mast design and general shape characteristics when compared to the 2022 rendering. The overall length of the rear deckhouse also appears to have been increased, though the rest of the ship is not visible.
DDG(X) is continuing through its design and feasibility phase and the most recent render presented may not be the final design chosen by the U.S. Navy. The class is expected to begin construction in 2032. According to the U.S. Navy, DDG(X) will be the most complex ship ever fielded.
“DDG(X) will probably be the most complex ship that we put in the water. It will be a new hull form, but we’re leveraging existing systems.”
Admiral Michael Gilday, Chief of Naval Operations (2019-2023) at SNA 2022
At the time of publishing, NAVSEA had not returned a request for the original rendering file or comments.
