The Navy’s Next-Generation Destroyer Looks Unaffordable. The Service Needs To Keep Improving What It Already Has (From Forbes)

The Navy wants to develop a next-generation destroyer 40% bigger than its existing Burke class. That isn’t going to happen. The Congressional Budget Office estimates each of the next-gen DDG(X) destroyers would cost over $3 billion. Populating an adequately-sized surface fleet at that price would be exceedingly unlikely. The service needs to stay on the path of continuously improving its Burke class to provide future warfighting gains at an affordable price. I have written a commentary for Forbes here.