The U.S. Navy is planning for its next-generation destroyer, currently known as the DDG(X), to feature directed-energy weapons and more capacity to carry and launch missiles.According to a report this month from the Congressional Research Service, the service is requesting $133.5 million in research and development in its proposed fiscal 2026 budget to manufacture the DDG(X), which it hopes to procure in the early 2030s. The design for the DDG(X) is larger than previous proposals, with the report noting that it now calls for the ship to have a displacement of 14,500 tons, representing a boost of 1,000 tons from the design put forth in the Navy’s shipbuilding plan for fiscal 2024.The report questions how an enlarged design would be consistent with the Navy’s stated aim of transitioning to a modernized fleet featuring smaller vessels. To modernize the fleet and cut costs, the Pentagon has been turning to autonomous vessels, and the Navy recently integrated small unmanned surface vessels into a major Baltic Sea exercise.The DDG(X) is intended to replace what are called “Aegis destroyers,” which include the Ticonderoga-class cruisers and Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. They are known as “Aegis destroyers,” because they feature the Aegis Combat System, described by the Navy as “the first fully integrated combat system built to defend against advanced air and surface threats.”The first version of the Aegis was operationally tested in 1973, and the first cruiser equipped with Aegis, the Ticonderoga, was commissioned in 1983. The Arleigh-Burke class came into being as a smaller destroyer featuring an updated宙斯盾系统，该班级的第一艘船于1991年委托。在1978年至1988年之间，在美国舰队中，仍有22艘Ticonderoga级巡洋舰在1983年至1994年之间进入服务的船只。 li