Secretary of the Navy Donald C. Winter and Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Gary Roughead sought eight more Burkes and argued that DDG-1000 had become too vulnerable to missile attack. The explanation puzzled Congress because the two classes used related surface-to-air weapons and Zumwalt could have received additional close-in defenses. Officials cited a transformed threat picture, including Hezbollah missiles, after less than ten weeks of reassessment following thirteen years and about ten billion dollars of development. The closing inference is that leaders feared receiving no destroyers at all and chose the apparently cheaper, politically safer Burke.
Chapter · 34:22-38:07
The Navy's sudden 2008 reversal toward more Burkes
After thirteen years and billions in development, Navy leaders abruptly argued that missile threats made DDG-1000 unsuitable and requested eight more Burkes instead.