Originally Posted by
etudiant
Was not the Burke hull the same as the Spruances?
No, but the CG-47 Ticonderoga class were. (I served in a few of those as well).
Burke was a 'clean sheet' design, and it included lessons learned (more steel in the superstructure) from the Falklands War, also has CIC in a more protected part of the ship. (Spru Cans and Ticos have a CIC a bit higher above the main deck).
I'd thought that they just stuffed in everything they could. That is why the Zumwalt hull looks so appealing, it has a lot more growth potential.
Yeah, that was the impression that I got as that program stumbled through its various hurdles.
Someone in Congress observed that the Zumwalt class was an example of what's wrong with our acquisition process. I found it hard to disagree with that assessment.