USS John Finn illustrates the return to Flight IIA construction while the Zumwalt program was still producing its ships. John Finn was ordered in June 2011, before Zumwalt was laid down that November, and commissioned in July 2017, after the third Zumwalt had been laid down in January. Restarting the Burke line required rebuilding jigs and tooling removed during the changeover to Zumwalt construction. The familiar helicopter facilities for ASW, sonar, and other systems made Flight IIA a known capability. The return is explained as a preference for a design the Navy already trusted, despite the cost of restoring its production arrangements.
Notable Point · 57:33-1:00:50
Flight IIA restart chooses reliability
The restart section shows why the US Navy returned to a known Flight IIA design while still stretching the Burke hull through upgrades.