{"id":23162,"date":"2018-12-26T17:30:38","date_gmt":"2018-12-26T17:30:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2018\/12\/26\/the-us-navys-surface-fleet-heres-whats-ahead-in-2019\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:01:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:01:10","slug":"the-us-navys-surface-fleet-heres-whats-ahead-in-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/naval\/2018\/12\/26\/the-us-navys-surface-fleet-heres-whats-ahead-in-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"The US Navy\u2019s surface fleet: Here\u2019s what\u2019s ahead in 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/naval\/2018\/06\/05\/surface-warfare-a-running-fix\/\">U.S. surface fleet<\/a> has a big year in store for 2019, and we\u2019re going to start getting more details very soon on what the future has in store for surface warriors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But surface leadership has been dropping clues on where things are going. Here\u2019s a handy reference guide for heading into January\u2019s Surface Navy Association annual symposium and for what the fleet has up its sleeve for the coming months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Robot wars<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Chief of Naval Operations\u2019 Surface Navy Director Rear Adm. Ron Boxall forecast what was on his mind at a recent training and simulation conference in Orlando.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The focus for Boxall and the N96 shop will be to get more sensors and weapons into the battlespace, distributed and networked, so that a smaller number of larger warships can act as command and control for smaller units.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf you think about what we are trying to do with the surface force, we have large and small surface combatants that will [ultimately make up part of the 355-ship Navy] but we have no requirement for unmanned surface vessels right now, which I see as an absolutely critical part of distributed lethality, distributed maritime operations environment that we are moving into,\u201d Boxall said. \u201cUltimately I need more nodes out there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/naval\/2018\/08\/30\/us-navy-selects-builder-for-new-mq-25-stingray-aerial-refueling-drone\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/MQ-25-1.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">US Navy selects builder for new MQ-25 Stingray aerial refueling drone<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The Navy has traversed a long and complicated road in trying to develop a UAS that would fly on and off its aircraft carriers.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">N96 is looking closely at what might be needed for a large unmanned surface vessel, much like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/pentagon\/2016\/04\/07\/unmanned-sub-hunter-to-begin-test-program\/\">the Sea Hunter drone<\/a> developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think these are what you need to go in the water and carry large things and be more places at less cost,\u201d Boxall said. \u201cSo, in that nodal structure, we are looking at them becoming large sensors or large shooters, but we are still working out the requirement.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Developing unmanned vessels for military use was a key component of a recent agreement with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/naval\/2018\/10\/21\/to-combat-russian-subs-nato-allies-are-teaming-up-to-develop-unmanned-systems-at-sea\/\">NATO forged during the July summit<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Future frigate<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Next year is the crucial year for FFG(X), the year when the Navy finalizes its requirements and puts the first hull out to bid for a 2020 detailed design and construction award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Look for news to creep out on this ship throughout the year but Boxall had some remarks on how it will fit into the fleet now in development. Boxall hinted that the planned 20 hulls may be a low-ball figure, and that he\u2019s looking to maybe keep the program going beyond that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt will be a very capable ship, but it won\u2019t have a lot of capacity,\u201d he said. \u201cBut it will be able to both sense and shoot and do command and control at a smaller level. It will be a much less expensive platform and I can have more of them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/euronaval\/2018\/10\/23\/lockheed-planning-big-shift-away-from-lcs-propulsion-system-for-its-future-frigate-offering\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/FFGX-1.jpg-1.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Lockheed planning big shift away from LCS propulsion system for its future frigate offering<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Lockheed Martin is planning to shift from Littoral Combat Ship\u2019s high-speed water-jet propulsion to a very different propulsion system for its version of the FFG(X).<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Training <\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Training is a major focus of Surface Navy boss Vice Adm. Richard Brown, and some ongoing efforts will start to bear fruit in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Earlier in 2018, the Navy reprogrammed $24 million to build <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/training-sim\/2018\/11\/26\/us-navy-steps-up-training-standards-following-fatal-mccain-fitzgerald-collisions\/\">a Maritime Skills Training Program<\/a>, which will be heavily reliant on simulators to bring together officer and enlisted watchstanders from both the bridge and the combat information center to train on equipment and work as a unit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019ve secured the funding for the maritime skills training centers, which is going to do two things: individual officer training through the [officer of the deck training],\u201d Brown said earlier this year. \u201cSo that, in conjunction with building out the navigation, seamanship and ship-handling trainers in the fleet concentration areas, will give us integrated bridge and [combat information center] training at the high end. That\u2019s my No. 1 priority.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those facilities will be ready for use by the waterfront in the 2021 time frame, Brown said. Upgrades to existing simulators are being rolled out this month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>DDG-1000<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Look for news on the future of DDG-1000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The first of the class, the Zumwalt, is wrapping up its combat systems installation in San Diego and will start the process of integrating the three-ship class into the fleet. We\u2019re going to find out more about its new mission \u2013 surface strike \u2013 and how the Navy plans to employ its behemoth new surface combatant.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/naval\/2018\/02\/15\/its-official-the-navys-new-stealth-destroyers-will-be-ship-killers\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"193\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635941854432565147-stealth-destroyer-weig-3-jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">The Navy\u2019s stealth destroyers to get new weapons and a new mission: killing ships<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The Navy is asking Congress to fund a conversion of its 600-foot stealth destroyers from primarily a land attack ship to an anti-surface, offensive strike platform.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Navy <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/naval\/2018\/04\/19\/advanced-gun-system-was-holding-back-the-navys-new-stealth-destroyer\/\">has pivoted away from its<\/a> long odyssey to find a use for its advanced gun system, with requirements boss Vice Adm. William Merz saying in testimony in April <a href=\"https:\/\/www.engagingpresence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Screen-Shot-2017-06-06-at-2.56.37-PM.png\">that the Sisyphean task<\/a> of getting a working gun on Zumwalt was holding the ship back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cEven at the high cost, we still weren\u2019t really getting what we had asked for,\u201d he said. \u201cSo what we\u2019ve elected to do is to separate the gun effort from the ship effort because we really got to the point where now we\u2019re holding up the ship.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Instead, efforts are going to focus on getting Zumwalt into the fleet and on the hunt for ships to kill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Large surface combatant<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Last up, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/naval\/2018\/09\/17\/the-us-navy-is-going-to-need-a-bigger-boat-and-its-getting-ready-to-buy-one\/\">Large Surface Combatant<\/a> should start getting some meat on its bones in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Boxall and company are aiming to put the fleet on a course to buy its cruiser and destroyer replacement in 2023 or 2024, which means a request for information from industry could be in the near future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What we know is that, like the small surface combatant, the Navy wants commonality with other nodes in the network. That means a similar radar as on FFG(X), the same combat system and as much overlapping equipment as the fleet can manage to tamp down on compatibility issues and on how much specialized training sailors need to be on one platform or another.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/naval\/2018\/09\/17\/the-us-navy-is-going-to-need-a-bigger-boat-and-its-getting-ready-to-buy-one\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"194\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/24_naval.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">The US Navy is going to need a bigger boat, and it\u2019s getting ready to buy one<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The U.S. surface Navy is moving rapidly toward buying a new large surface ship that will replace the aging cruisers.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The U.S. surface fleet has a big year in store for 2019.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":51358,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":16,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["your-military","news","left-column","home","middle-column"],"primary_category":"your-military"},"7":{"categories":["your-navy","news","left-column","home","middle-column","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"your-navy"}}},"categories":[160,29,16,36,103,26,164],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3361],"class_list":["post-23162","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-digital-show-dailies","category-naval","category-newsletters","category-surface-navy-association","category-training-sim","category-training-simulation-report"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"JMVTS7RYQNG7TDTDUMQY7HFKGA","arc_canonical_url":"\/naval\/2018\/12\/26\/the-us-navys-surface-fleet-heres-whats-ahead-in-2019\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The US Navy\u2019s surface fleet: Here\u2019s what\u2019s ahead in 2019 - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The U.S. surface fleet has a big year in store for 2019.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/naval\/2018\/12\/26\/the-us-navys-surface-fleet-heres-whats-ahead-in-2019\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The US Navy\u2019s surface fleet: Here\u2019s what\u2019s ahead in 2019\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The U.S. surface fleet has a big year in store for 2019.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/naval\/2018\/12\/26\/the-us-navys-surface-fleet-heres-whats-ahead-in-2019\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Defense News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-12-26T17:30:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-07T22:01:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"David B. 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