U.S. Navy to Build Arleigh Burke Flight III Destroyers Into 2040 as China’s Missile Threat Grows.

The U.S. Navy plans to continue building Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers into 2040, positioning the Flight III configuration as a core element of its future defense against increasingly complex cruise and ballistic missile threats. Centered on the AN/SPY-6(V)1 Air and Missile Defense Radar and Aegis Baseline 10 combat system, Flight III gives U.S. carrier strike groups a more capable surface-based missile defense asset as Ticonderoga-class cruisers leave service.

According to the U.S. Navy’s FY2027 Modernized Selected Acquisition Report, effective April 21, 2026, planned Arleigh Burke deliveries extend through DDG 150 in August 2040. This long production horizon is strategically significant as the U.S. Navy prepares for operations against adversaries that can generate increasingly dense and sophisticated missile attacks, particularly in the Indo-Pacific.

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Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125), the U.S. Navy’s first Flight III destroyer equipped with the AN/SPY-6(V)1 Air and Missile Defense Radar and Aegis Baseline 10, moored at Naval Base San Diego on August 28, 2026. (Picture source: U.S. Department of War/Defense)

The program's scale makes the Arleigh Burke-class a central component of U.S. surface combat power for decades to come. The report states that 76 destroyers have been delivered since the program began in 1985, with 12 ships under construction and 24 under contract across Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding in Mississippi and General Dynamics Bath Iron Works in Maine. The current acquisition estimate covers 109 destroyers, meaning the delivered fleet represents almost 70 percent of the planned procurement quantity.

The next scheduled Arleigh Burke delivery is DDG 127 in September 2026. This ship is particularly significant because it is the final Flight IIA destroyer, effectively closing one major stage of the DDG 51 production program as construction increasingly transitions toward the more capable Flight III configuration.

The U.S. Navy has already started this transition. DDG 125, the first Flight III destroyer, was delivered on June 27, 2023, followed by DDG 128 in December 2025. According to the current schedule, the next Flight III ships are DDG 129, planned for delivery in August 2027, and DDG 126 in September 2027. The report identifies DDG 125, DDG 126, DDG 128, and follow-on destroyers as Flight III ships, establishing the configuration as the principal version for future production.

What distinguishes Flight III from earlier Arleigh Burke variants is primarily its ability to conduct integrated air and missile defense against multiple categories of threats simultaneously. The configuration combines Aegis Weapon System Baseline 10 with the AN/SPY-6(V)1 Air and Missile Defense Radar and introduces associated electrical-power and cooling improvements necessary to support the new sensor and combat-system architecture. The U.S. Navy specifically identifies the ability to perform anti-air warfare and ballistic missile defense simultaneously as the critical operational capability provided by Flight III.

The SPY-6(V)1 is therefore much more than a replacement radar. Its role is to give the destroyer greater capacity to search for, detect and track demanding airborne and missile targets while Aegis Baseline 10 manages the resulting tactical picture and weapon engagements. In a high-intensity naval battle, that combination is especially relevant when a formation faces multiple threat types at once, including aircraft, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles approaching from different directions and following different trajectories.

This capability directly addresses the changing threat environment in the Indo-Pacific. China has developed a large inventory of conventional ballistic and cruise missiles designed to threaten naval forces and bases at considerable distances, creating an operational environment in which U.S. surface forces could face coordinated attacks intended to saturate their defenses. For the U.S. Navy, the challenge is not limited to intercepting individual missiles; it also includes detecting attacks early enough, maintaining tracks on multiple targets, and coordinating defensive engagements across an entire naval formation.

Flight III retains the 96-cell Vertical Launching System of earlier Arleigh Burke destroyers, allowing the U.S. Navy to configure its missile inventory according to operational requirements. The cells can support weapons for air and missile defense, long-range strike, and anti-submarine warfare, giving the destroyer a substantial defensive magazine without sacrificing its offensive role. The report also specifies a 30-knot speed requirement, a 4,000-nautical-mile endurance threshold and the ability to embark two helicopters.

This combination matters operationally because Flight III is not a dedicated missile-defense ship. While SPY-6(V)1 and Aegis Baseline 10 substantially strengthen integrated air and missile defense, the destroyer can still conduct Tomahawk strike missions, anti-surface warfare, and anti-submarine operations. A single Flight III can therefore help protect a carrier strike group while retaining the weapons and sensors needed for offensive operations and maritime control.

The transition becomes more significant as the U.S. Navy retires its Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers. These cruisers have traditionally provided carrier strike groups with substantial missile capacity and command-and-control capability for air defense, but the FY2027 acquisition report explicitly states that introducing the more capable Flight III aligns with U.S. Navy priorities to replace cruisers in the integrated air and missile defense mission.

Flight III does not reproduce every characteristic of a Ticonderoga-class cruiser. Instead, the U.S. Navy is emphasizing improved sensor and combat-system performance within the established Arleigh Burke design. The SPY-6(V)1 and Aegis Baseline 10 combination is intended to provide the detection, tracking, command-and-control and engagement capability needed for increasingly demanding fleet-defense operations, while the 96-cell missile battery maintains significant firepower for both defensive and offensive missions.

This approach is also directly relevant to the expansion of China’s surface fleet. Chinese Type 055 large destroyers combine substantial missile capacity with modern sensors and are intended to perform missions that include area air defense and escort of major naval formations. The emergence of these warships alongside China’s land-, air- and sea-launched missile capabilities means U.S. Navy destroyers must operate in an environment where both opposing surface combatants and long-range missile forces can contribute to the threat.

Comparing Flight III and the Type 055 solely by missile-cell numbers, however, gives an incomplete picture of their combat potential. Flight III carries 96 VLS cells, while the Chinese warship has a larger missile-cell capacity, but naval air and missile defense also depends on radar detection range and sensitivity, target discrimination, combat-system performance, interceptor capability, and the ability to exchange targeting information with other forces. Flight III’s principal advantage is therefore the integration of SPY-6(V)1 with Aegis Baseline 10 within the wider U.S. Navy air and missile defense architecture.

The Flight III Aegis Weapon System includes the Command and Decision System Mk 2, Weapons Control System Mk 7, Missile Fire Control System Mk 99, Operational Readiness and Test System Mk 9, and Aegis Display System Mk 2. These systems collectively process sensor information, build the tactical picture and control engagements, allowing the destroyer to operate as part of a wider defensive network rather than relying exclusively on its own radar and weapons.

That networked capability becomes particularly valuable during a mass missile attack. The operational objective is to identify threats as early as possible, establish reliable tracks and provide commanders with sufficient time and information to allocate interceptors efficiently. By combining a more capable radar with an established Aegis engagement architecture, Flight III increases the U.S. Navy’s capacity to defend high-value forces without transforming the Arleigh Burke into a narrowly specialized warship.

The long-term production schedule will progressively expand that capability across the fleet. The report lists DDG 143 for delivery in August 2036, DDG 145 in August 2037, DDG 146 in August 2038, DDG 147 in August 2039, and finally DDG 150 in August 2040. This means SPY-6-equipped Arleigh Burke Flight III destroyers are expected to continue entering U.S. Navy service for about 14 more years under the current schedule.

For the U.S. Navy, maintaining Arleigh Burke construction for that long provides an important bridge between the current surface fleet and future large surface combatants. It allows the service to keep producing a proven multi-mission destroyer while progressively increasing radar performance, missile-defense capacity, and networked combat capability, rather than waiting for an entirely new ship design to deliver those improvements.

The strategic importance of Arleigh Burke Flight III therefore extends beyond the longevity of the DDG 51 production line. As Ticonderoga-class cruisers disappear from the fleet and China continues developing long-range missiles and increasingly capable naval forces, the SPY-6-equipped Flight III gives the U.S. Navy a means to sustain and expand high-end integrated air and missile defense while preserving strike, anti-surface and anti-submarine capabilities. Continuing deliveries through 2040 indicate that the U.S. Navy expects this combination of SPY-6 radar, Aegis Baseline 10 and 96-cell missile capacity to remain central to protecting American naval forces well into the next generation of maritime competition.

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Written by Alain Servaes – Chief Editor, Army Recognition Group
Alain Servaes is a former infantry non-commissioned officer and the founder of Army Recognition. With over 20 years in defense journalism, he provides expert analysis on military equipment, NATO operations, and the global defense industry.