Zita Ballinger Fletcher of DefenseNews reports that the U.S. Navy is advancing plans for its next-generation destroyer, the DDG(X), aiming for deployment in the early 2030s. With a larger 14,500-ton design, the DDG(X) will include directed-energy weapons, enhanced missile capacity, and improved stealth features. It’s set to replace aging Aegis-equipped cruisers and destroyers like the Ticonderoga and Arleigh Burke classes. Backed by a $133.5 million FY2026 research and development request, the DDG(X) will retain the Aegis Combat System and feature modular missile cells and power systems to support high-energy weapons such as lasers. Despite its size increase, the Navy aims to balance modernization with evolving strategies favoring smaller, more autonomous vessels.

The U.S. Navy is planning for its next-generation destroyer, currently known as the DDG(X), to feature directed-energy weapons and more capacity to carry and launch missiles.

According to a report this month from the Congressional Research Service, the service is requesting $133.5 million in research and development in its proposed fiscal 2026 budget to manufacture the DDG(X), which it hopes to procure in the early 2030s.

The design for the DDG(X) is larger than previous proposals, with the report noting that it now calls for the ship to have a displacement of 14,500 tons, representing a boost of 1,000 tons from the design put forth in the Navy’s shipbuilding plan for fiscal 2024. […]

To modernize the fleet and cut costs, the Pentagon has been turning to autonomous vessels, and the Navy recently integrated small unmanned surface vessels into a major Baltic Sea exercise. […]

It will also feature a power system able to support the deployment of directed energy weapons. These use electromagnetic energy to inflict damage and can include lasers, microwaves or particle beams.

The Navy also hopes that the cruisers will produce less underwater noise while at sea, and thus have “reduced vulnerability due to reduced infrared, acoustic and underwater electromagnetic signatures.”

Read more here.