DD Arleigh Burke Variant

[JohnR]

Re-reading Norman Friedmans second edition of US Destroyers, I am surprised that the Aegis-less version of the Burkes was not proceeded with, it seems to have made perfect sense as a replacement for the Spruances, it would have continued the commonality of spares and training between Spuances and Ticos.

What would have been the likely reduction of cost and crew compared to the DDG Burkes?

 

[SSgtC]

I think the feeling was that budgets were going to be shrinking and Congress wouldn't be willing to pay for enough dedicated AAW and ASW destroyers, so it would be best to maximize the hulls they would pay for by making them all capable of doing either mission. As for cost difference, that would probably be fairly substantial when looked at in a vacuum. But when evaluating a new ship class, the Navy tends to look at life cycle cost, not just initial purchase price. And in that regard, there is probably little to no difference.

 

[TomS]

Re-reading Norman Friedmans second edition of US Destroyers, I am surprised that the Aegis-less version of the Burkes was not proceeded with, it seems to have made perfect sense as a replacement for the Spruances, it would have continued the commonality of spares and training between Spuances and Ticos.

What would have been the likely reduction of cost and crew compared to the DDG Burkes?

You should see the thread here that has a more detailed description of the various DDV versions than Friedman (https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/arleigh-burke-class-concepts.8239/post-140263). Most of the less expensive versions would have fallen short of being an actual Spruance replacement, since they not have as many strike missiles as the modernized Spruances could offer.