The United States Navy communicated last Thursday that twelve Arleigh Burke-class Flight I guided-missile destroyers will remain in service beyond their originally projected service life. The decision was made based on a “hull-by-hull assessment of the ship’s material condition, combat capability, technical viability, and life cycle maintenance requirements.”
According to the U.S. Navy, funding for this time extension was proposed in the fiscal year 26 budget request, also updating the shipbuilding plan. Depending on the vessel, the service life extensions for the destroyers range from one to five years, although the press release highlights that “it will result in an additional 48 cumulative years of ship service life in the period from 2028 to 2035.”
In this regard, the calculations were as follows: three-year extensions for the USS Barry (DDG-52) and USS The Sullivans (DDG-68); one-year extensions for the USS Carney (DDG-64) and USS Stethem (DDG-63); and five-year extensions each for the eight remaining destroyers, namely: USS Gonzalez (DDG-66), USS Cole (DDG-67), USS John Paul Jones (DDG-53), USS Paul Hamilton (DDG-60), USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG-54), USS Laboon (DDG-58), USS John S. McCain (DDG-56), and USS Stout (DDG-55).
It is worth remembering that in August 2023, the U.S. Navy announced that it would extend the service life of four Flight I destroyers: USS Milius (DDG-69) and USS Mitscher (DDG-57) each by four years, while USS Benfold (DDG-65) and USS Ramage (DDG-61) by five years. Now, the 12 recently mentioned ships will be added, with the central objective of extending the 35 years that each Arleigh Burke-class vessel was scheduled to remain in the fleet.
One of the Flight I destroyers the Navy has opted not to extend is the USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62), due to the fatal collision it was involved in with a container ship off the coast of Japan in 2017, where seven American sailors lost their lives.
Currently, the Navy estimates a total cost of $1.3 billion for the entire fiscal year 2026, and $6 billion over 15 years for this program, costing $139.6 million per ship per year. However, the upcoming U.S. elections must be considered, and whether, in the event of a change in government, the service life extension plan will continue.
Additionally, the U.S. had been prioritizing the “Next Generation Air Dominance” program, also known as NGAD, sidelining the DDG(X) program: the class of destroyers that would replace the Arleigh Burke Flight III. According to a 2022 report from the Congressional Budget Office, DDG(X) hulls could cost up to $3.4 billion each, so extending the service life of current destroyers is undoubtedly a viable option to balance the budget.
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