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WASHINGTON — The past few days have been good for a number of the US Navy’s shipbuilders. The service issued building contracts for two new destroyers, three littoral combat ships (LCS) and two new landing craft. Long-lead funding was issued for another LCS, and even the Coast Guard got in on the action, ordering another large National Security Cutter. A destroyer was launched, a new amphibious ship christened, and a high-speed catamaran vessel successfully completed sea trials.

via Flurry of Contracts Spark US Navy Shipbuilding.

We have our share of heartburn with Navy shipbuilding, but it behooves us to remember that not every program is a dumpster fire. The DDG-51 program has been well run for nigh on 40 years.  Of course, that poses a problem, as there is little room for growth left in the basic design, and the technology available to shipbuilders has changed somewhat in four decades. But other than the DDG-1000 program, and the Flight III Burkes, there appears to be little interest in what the next class of major surface combatants should look like.