Navy Wants to Buy Two Arleigh Burkes a Year While Developing DDG(X) Concept - USNI News

The Navy is committed to buying two Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyers per year in tandem with developing its new DDG(X) program, the top surface warfare requirements officer said Wednesday.

While the first priority for the Navy’s surface warfare division director on the chief of naval operations’ staff (OPNAV N96) is delivering the Arleigh Burke-class Flight III destroyers on time, the second priority is seeking a two-per-year cadence for large surface combatants.

“My next priority is related to the first and that is to budget for and build two large surface combatants a year, at a minimum. Two ships a year with a 35 to 40-year service life results in an objective force of 70 to 80 large surface combatants in our navy,” Rear Adm. Paul Schlise said during a speech at a symposium hosted by the American Society of Naval Engineers.

“And two ships a year provides the Navy with the multi-domain dominance it needs to support the security and prosperity of the United States and it ensures the health of our large shipbuilding industrial base, something that I cannot stress enough,” he added. “Strategic competition requires industrial might and we must take steps to ensure this capability is sustained.”