Senate Urges Navy to Continue DDG(X) Development Alongside Trump-Class Battleship

The Senate Armed Services Committee has called on the U.S. Navy to continue developing the next-generation DDG(X) destroyer in parallel with the proposed Trump-class battleship, according to the explanatory report accompanying the committee’s draft of the Fiscal Year 2027 defense policy bill. The panel emphasized that the high cost of the battleship, estimated between $12.0 billion and $13.0 billion per unit, makes it an impractical replacement for retiring Arleigh Burke-class destroyers on a one-for-one basis. The report states, “Design and construction of the BBG(X) should not supplant the important work that needs to continue on the DDG(X).”

The Navy plans to submit its Fiscal Year 2028 budget next spring, which will include procurement funding for the first Trump-class battleship, with the Pentagon’s current five-year outlook projecting $17 billion for that program in FY 2028. However, the Senate committee chose not to authorize the $1 billion in advance procurement funding requested by the Navy for the battleship, with a Senate Majority official noting, “We believe that that was early to need for that program.” No restrictions were placed on the battleship program itself.

The DDG(X) program is intended to succeed the Flight I Arleigh Burke destroyers, which are expected to begin retiring in the 2030s. Navy officials have cited the need for a new hull form due to limited space, weight, power, and cooling margins on the Flight III Arleigh Burkes. The service’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget proposal sought research and development funding for preliminary design work on DDG(X), and the Senate committee wants the Navy to adhere to that timeline, as laid out last year. The Navy’s Fiscal Year 2027 30-year shipbuilding plan, released in May, noted that BBG(X) “is not a destroyer replacement,” and continuing with DDG(X) would require capability tradeoffs.

To bridge the gap while both new classes are developed, the Senate committee supports a new multi-year procurement contract for additional Arleigh Burke-class destroyers starting in Fiscal Year 2028, covering up to 15 ships. The current multi-year procurement deal for destroyers ends in Fiscal Year 2027. The Navy’s plans for DDG(X) and BBG(X) were highlighted after the Trump administration announced in December that it would build a battleship for the first time since the 1940s, with officials citing the large surface combatant requirement as justification for the larger battleship.