The US Navy has begun incorporating four key upgrades on its Arleigh Burke-class destroyers categorized as Flight IIA ships.
A senior official told Breaking Defense the first four ships to be modernized have already been selected: the Pinckney (DDG-91), James E. Williams (DDG-95), Chung Hoon (DDG-93), and USS Halsey (DDG-97).
They will all receive new sensors, radars, combat systems, and cooling systems to continue operating in future decades.
According to Capt. Tim Moore from the DDG-51 office, the initiative will go through a “crawl phase,” with the service installing the first three key upgrades on the first four ships before moving on to the rest of the fleet.
The vessels will then return to sea to test the newly-installed capabilities before heading back to port to receive the final upgrade – the SPY-6 radar.
The official said the process has already begun, with the Pinckney (DDG-91) receiving the first upgrades.
No Exact Timeline
The US Navy reportedly has at least 70 active Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, of which 39 are categorized as Flight IIA ships.
Apart from the four vessels mentioned above, the fleet includes the Thomas Hudner (DDG-116), Paul Ignatius (DDG-117), Daniel Inouye (DDG-118), Delbert D. Black (DDG-119), and USS Carl M. Levin (DDG-120).
Because of the considerable size of the fleet, Moore said the service is still working on determining the exact timeline for the upgrades.
He also did not provide the specific number of destroyers to be upgraded annually, saying the service will try multiple ships per year.
$438M Contract
Earlier this week, the US Navy announced that it awarded a $438.5-million contract to General Dynamics for maintenance and modernization of two Flight IIA destroyers, the James E. Williams (DDG-95) and Chung Hoon (DDG-93).
Although the service did not disclose the specific work to be done on the warships, it is expected that the upgrade will bolster their anti-submarine warfare and anti-surface warfare capabilities.
The announcement said the contract will be completed by April 2024.
