What lies beyond the horizon of the destroyer? An experienced tincan skipper envisions the global environment of the next two decades and gives his candid opinion of the role of the destroyer on tomorrow’s uncharted waters.
Because the relentless push of technology constantly changes the relative value of all weapons systems, the effectiveness of the destroyer has risen and fallen frequently during her 60-year history. Today, with the size and shape of the destroyer classes in a convulsion of technological transition, perhaps we need to take a hard look at the DD weapons system upon which our fleet relies so heavily. Is the destroyer competent to continue carrying out efficiently the heavy task thrust upon her by our world-wide sea power commitment? Will he be relatively as valuable a weapon 10 to 20 years from now as she is now, or was 10 and 20 years ago?
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