Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyer by Robert Okerholm, Twenty-First Century Models, January 2013.
It appears the US Navy plans for future destroyer construction once again focus on the
Arleigh Burke class. In addition to new
Flight IIA ships, the Navy may buy an undetermined number of Flight III
Arleigh Burkes through FY 2022 and possibly until FY 2031. These are expected to carry a smaller version of the new Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR-S) dual-band active array that was slated for the canceled CG (X), along with the upgraded power and cooling systems required to support it.
Both Bath Iron Works and Huntington Ingalls Industries (the former Northrop Grumman) will continue to build ships. Huntington Ingalls’ Pascagoula facility will, however, take over as the lead yard. Detailed design work is expected to commence in FY 2012–2013.
