Export timing limited the Spruance class

Why was the Spruance class not widely exported?

The suggested explanation is timing: foreign demand did not coincide with the class's availability, while the Iran-bound Kidd derivative lost its intended customer after political change.

Procurement timing is the likely explanation offered for the Spruance class's limited export market. Charles F. Adams derivatives had attracted Australian and German orders, but comparable demand may not have coincided with Spruance's availability. The closely related Kidd design began as an Iranian order before political change left the ships to be acquired by the United States. The comparison treats customer circumstances as part of export success alongside the design's capabilities.