CRS report and DDG(X): a turning point for the US Navy

The American Navy is preparing for another big change. The DDG(X) destroyers program is intended to open the path of successor Arleigh Burke rocket destroyers and Ticonderoga cruisers. What is really recorded in the latest CSR report for the U.S. Congress?

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Large vessels at a turning point

DDG(X) ships are expected to fill the gap after Ticonderoga cruisers and older Arleigh Burke destroyers, entering into a broader plan to build a fleet of 381 units. The process of withdrawing the Ticonderogs has been going on for several years and according to the available schedules it will close around 2027–2029, so it is DDG(X) that are to take over their role in the US Navy's air defense and impact system. In parallel, the mature Arleigh Burke Flight III line with AN/SPY-6 radar maintains current capabilities, but this new generation program is intended to provide a development reserve, a greater energy reserve and space for future sensors and effectors.

The process of withdrawing Ticonderoga cruisers is a subject to which we have already returned on our portal, describing the beginning of the "end of the cruiser era" in the US Navy. At the time, we paid attention to the dilemmas associated with the rate of departure of these individuals and the lack of a clear successor. The latest report of the CRS shows that the DDG(X) program was designed as an answer to this problem – it is intended to take over the role of the Ticonderogs and at the same time set a new standard for large submarines for the next decades.

Meanwhile, the Arleigh Burke destroyer family is still developing – from the early series to the present ships in the Flight III standard. In the margins, it is worth mentioning three Zumwalt-type destroyers, which have been equipped with a different combat system and still serve as a specific technological experiment. In this situation, the DDG(X) destroyer program is not just a successor, but an attempt to define a new type of large water vessel for the following decades.

DDG(X) as successor to Arleigh Burke

The letter "X" in the program name emphasizes that the project details are still not definitive. The Navy approved the main requirements as early as December 2020, and since then the topic has regularly returned in subsequent CRS reports. The document "In Focus" was updated several times – in December 2023, then in March and December 2024 and in the summer of 2025 – each time making amendments to the programme's schedule and budget.

According to the latest analysis of Congressional Budget Office, the initial buoyancy of future destroyers is expected to be about 14 500 tonnes, a thousand tons more than previously assumed and nearly half more than in Arleigh Burke units.

DDG(X) is to take over the solutions tested on Flight III, but at the same time offer much greater development potential. Project provides a clear supply of space, buoyancy, power and cooling, allowing for heavier sensors and weapons requiring large energy sources in the future. The new destroyers will receive an integrated power system, reduced susceptibility by reducing infrared and acoustic signatures, as well as increased operational autonomy and the ability to operate at sea for a long time.

Basic design and key solutions

The initial configuration of DDG(X) provides 96 standard VLS tubes, with the design allowing replacing 32 of them with twelve larger diameter chambers. This arrangement opens the way to introduce larger diameter effectors, which could not yet be integrated into Arleigh Burke destroyers. In addition, two 21-chamber RAM sets are planned, and the ship's body itself provides for the possibility of extending the hull by a module Destroyer Payload Module. It is designed to increase both load capacity and usability space, creating a real modernization buffer for decades in the service of the US Navy.

The key work on DDG(X) today focuses on reducing the risk of the ship's construction. The Navy conducts post tests of power supply components at shore stations, collecting the data necessary for further design decisions. In parallel, the shape of the hull is developed, which will determine the reliability of the platform and the real potential for modernization throughout the life cycle. If you want to insert hard parameters and amounts into the text, we can transfer them into a separate frame with a footnote to the CRS/CBO documents, leaving in the main content a shot according to the standard of Polish industry portals.

The draft budget for 2026 allocated to DDG(X) vessels $133,5 million. Part of this amount is intended to serve conceptual work and design studios, the rest will be directed at technology demonstrations and risk reduction in the area of propulsion and energy. At this stage there is no mention of building a prototype – the activities focus on preparations to purchase the first ship in the early 1930s. With the launch of this production line, orders for Arleigh Burke destroyers will be completed.

Questions to decision-makers and relevance to the future of the US Navy

The CRS report outlines five key questions facing the DDG(X) destroyer program. First: whether the construction of a new type will actually prove more profitable than further modernization of Arleigh Burke destroyers. Secondly, whether skills requirements have been realistically assessed. Thirdly: how to reconcile the ambition of the number of new ships with other fiscal needs of the American fleet. Fourth: how to minimise technical risks, costs and delays. Fifth: whether the continuous transfer of production from DDG-51 to DDG(X) will be maintained without loss of industrial capacity.

Although the report does not prejudge the final shape of the DDG(X), it gives an image of several main pillars that already determine the direction of the program: a significantly increased modernisation stock, energy architecture prepared to operate the most demanding systems and weapons, and a specific buffer of space and infrastructure for future effectors. If these assumptions are maintained and consistently implemented, the DDG(X) can become the unit on which the U.S. Navy will build its capabilities for decades to come, and the reference point to which other Navys will compare.

Written by Mariusz Dasiewicz