Military tank destroyers future8/22/2023 Warships take a while to build, so the current contract that would complete appropriations in 2022 would result in the final Burke being completed in 2027. Keep evolving the Burke until the Navy has a plan for its future large surface combatants worthy of the name.Ĭongress has already signaled a willingness to consider that option by funding long-lead items for another Flight III destroyer in 2022 while withholding money for a successor.Ī group of legislators with home-state interest in the outcome of this debate sent a letter to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense on March 15, arguing the Navy should ensure stability in the shipbuilding industrial base by funding another multiyear contract for “at least fifteen ships to extend beyond FY 2022, the expiration year of the current contract.” In fact, it would be a much simpler engineering challenge than starting over on a new design. However, it wouldn’t require a Manhattan Project to simply extend the hull of the Burke. Maybe its guesses about the future are right. The Navy says no way-the Burke isn’t big enough to provide the electrical power, cooling and sheer volume required for future weapons. If all that gear is suitable for use on a next-gen destroyer, maybe what the Navy really needs is another upgrade of the Burke. The Navy has not helped its case by saying it intends to adapt the hull, radar, combat system and weapons on the Burke for use on its successor. Obviously, that would not be a good time to migrate from building mature destroyers to a new and unproven warship grounded in guesses about what the future might hold. Indo-Pacific Command says China might make a move to occupy Taiwan. With regard to timing, the Navy proposes to transition from construction of the last Burke destroyers to DDG(X) around 2027-precisely the timeframe in which the outgoing head of the U.S. But now, 20 years after that debacle commenced, the sea service is back with another destroyer concept driven by a desire for futuristic weapons that might not come to fruition. The idea didn’t work out, and Zumwalt was canceled after building three (very expensive) destroyers. That sounds suspiciously like its rationale for building another Burke replacement called the Zumwalt class that was supposed to host advanced guns for precisely shelling distant targets. With regard to rationale, the Navy says it needs more space than the Burke can provide for futuristic weapons like high-power lasers and hypersonic weapons. Both the rationale for the new warship and the timing of its construction raise red flags.
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