USS Jack H. Lucas, first Arleigh Burke Flight III destroyer, begins testing advanced combat systems roles

An IOT&E campaign ship is responsible for building requirements for new technologies that sustain fleet lethality and war-fighting advantage at sea. “In order to rapidly transition this technology to the fleet and to get it out on the front line, Jack H. Lucas was designated as the IOT&E campaign ship, and we push on a very aggressive schedule to test underway while going through different scenarios,” Bucher continued. “Jack H. Lucas is tasked with taking the technology to sea, to test it, and then to rapidly and iteratively build on that so that we meet the requirements to maintain that war-fighting edge.”

Commissioned in 2023, the ship introduces advanced systems centred on the AN/SPY-6(V)1 Air and Missile Defense Radar, the most powerful radar ever fielded on a U.S. Navy surface warship. Compared with the earlier SPY-1D(V), the SPY-6 offers greatly increased sensitivity to detect, track and discriminate smaller, faster and more complex threats at longer ranges.

“It’s like going from a flip phone to an iPhone,” said Chief Sonar Technician (Surface) Nicholas Cederblom. “It does the calling, it does the texting, but it does so much more. And moving from that system into the advanced capabilities build, what we have right now, definitely is a lot more. No one else has done this.”

The Flight III design required major changes to power and cooling, including an upgraded electrical plant, improved chilled-water capacity and stronger structures to support the radar and higher displacement. “USS Jack H. Lucas looks like every other destroyer,” continued Cederblom. “We have the same weapon systems outside, but it’s the internal component, and it’s the people itself that make it different. We are training the next generation to go forward with our new SPY-6, with our Baseline 10, with our engineering plants having to supply everybody on board the ship to get where we need to go.”

Operationally, the ship retains the Aegis Combat System as Baseline 10, improving ballistic missile defence, integrated air and missile defence and reaction time against emerging hypersonic threats. “To come here and see what this ship can do is truly impressive,” said Bucher. “And it makes me proud as an American. And I hope that it makes the taxpayer proud that their capital investment is well spent. And then it is crewed by 300 citizens that are absolutely giving what they’ve got to make this platform, and this campaign and this class succeed. It is an engineering marvel. The things that this ship can do are truly impressive. I’ve been here about 18 months now and watching the technology evolve and watching it meet requirements – it’s amazing. I would say that the capacity in the war-fighting capability that it brings are remarkable.”

USS Jack H. Lucas was commissioned on 7 October 2023 and is named after Capt. Jacklyn Harold “Jack” Lucas, the youngest recipient of the Medal of Honor at age 17 during the Second World War. Commander, Naval Surface Force, Pacific Fleet is responsible for manning, training and equipping the surface force to provide fleet commanders with credible naval power to control the sea and project power ashore.