Huntington Ingalls wins contract for engineering and design of the future DDG(X) program.

According to a press release published by HII on July 22, 2022, the firm announced that its Ingalls Shipbuilding division has been awarded a cost-plus-incentive-fee contract for engineering and design from the U.S. Navy for the next-generation guided-missile destroyer (DDG(X)) program.
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Ingalls Shipbuilding division at Pascagoula, United States. (Picture source: HII)

Ingalls Shipbuilding is a major contractor and shipbuilding partner in the Arleigh Burke-class (DDG 51) program that has been in production for three decades.

Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are multi-mission ships that can provide offensive and defensive capabilities, and can conduct a variety of operations, from peacetime presence and crisis management to sea control and power projection, all in support of the United States military strategy.

DDG(X)

The DDG(X) program, also known as the Next-Generation Guided-Missile Destroyer program, is a United States Navy program to develop a class of surface combatant vessels to succeed its 22 Flight II Ticonderoga-class cruisers and older flights of the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer.

The program is the culmination of the Large Surface Combatant (LSC) initiative that followed the cancellation of CG(X), curtailed procurement of the Zumwalt-class destroyer, and the eventual need for replacing current guided missile cruisers and destroyers.

The ships will become the principal large surface combatants of the U.S. Navy and can incorporate more powerful sensor systems and have greater space and weight margins for future growth.

They will be able to accommodate larger missile launch systems, improved survivability, and space, weight, power, and cooling margins for future growth. The ships will have air defense command and control facilities and accommodations for an admiral's staff.

Armament

The vessels will be initially fitted with 32-cell blocks of the Mk. 41 VLS, with the concept image of the hull showing four such blocks. In lieu of the Mk. 41 block, a 12-cell block of larger launchers for hypersonic missiles can also be accepted.

The concept image also shows the vessel mounting a 5-inch (127-mm)/62 cal Mk. 45 Mod. 4 main gun. Upgraded versions of the class may also incorporate directed energy weapons, with lasers ranging from 150 to 600 kW.