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.
