Zumwalt was laid down in 2011, commissioned in 2016, and accepted in 2020. Michael Monsoor was not accepted until 2024, while Lyndon B. Johnson was projected to commission in 2027. Those dates leave roughly four decades between the first study and the final planned commissioning, despite the original ambition for 32 ships. The continued regeneration of Arleigh Burke production reflects how few successor efforts reached actual hulls.
Chapter · 24:15-27:14
From a 32-ship plan to three ships over forty years
The program stretched from 1987 studies to a projected 2027 commissioning while falling from 32 ships to three and repeatedly sending the Navy back to Burkes.