Navy Announces DD(X) Program

The U.S. Navy announced that it would issue a revised Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Future Surface Combatant Program. Formerly known as DD 21, the program will now be called "DD(X)" to more accurately reflect the program purpose, which is to produce a family of advanced technology surface combatants, not a single ship class. The program will provide a baseline for spiral development of the DD(X) and the future cruiser or "CG(X)" with emphasis on common hullform and technology development.

The Navy will use the advanced technology and networking capabilities from DD(X) and CG(X) in the development of the Littoral Combat Ship with the objective being a survivable, capable near-land platform to deal with threats of the 21st century. The intent is to innovatively combine the transformational technologies developed in the DD(X) program with the many ongoing R&D efforts involving mission focused surface ships to produce a state-of-the art surface combatant to defeat adversary attempts to deny access for US forces.

The revision of the program is based on the Navy's continued careful examination of DD21 as it reached the source selection milestone this past spring. At that time, the Navy delayed the down-select decision between the two competing DD21 teams in order to take advantage of ongoing reviews being conducted in the Department of Defense. The Navy expects to issue the revised RFP within the next few weeks, and to down-select a single industry team to be the design agent and technology developer this Spring.