The U.S. Navy has revealed the design concept of the next-generation DDG(X) warship, which the service plans to equip with directed energy weapons and hypersonic missiles, USNI News reported Wednesday.
The Navy wants DDG(X) to feature advanced sensors and deliver laser power tenfold of existing counterparts.
DDG(X) will feature a combat system based on the Flight III ships equipped with the SPY-6 air radar.
“Capabilities that we’re going to need for the 21st century to continue combating the threat are increased missile capability sensor growth, directed energy weapons, which actually require a lot of power, increased survivability and increased power availability,” Katherine Connelly, deputy program manager at the Navy’s Program Executive Office for Ships, said Wednesday at the Surface Navy Association symposium.
The service plans to begin building DDG(X) in 2028 as a successor to Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers.
