A decade ago, destroyers of the class Zumwalt They were going to be the future of the United States Navy. It was planned to build 32 of these ships, but in the end only 3 were built due to their very high cost. —8 billion dollars each, more than some aircraft carriers—and a performance that was not as expected. Although the intention was to replace the class destroyers with them Arleigh Burkethese remain in service after the Marine of the United States expressed its preference for the old destroyer designed in the 80s.
Now, after more than a decade in service, USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000) is being adapted to equip the first hypersonic missile of the Navy. The work is planned for the three ships of this class (DDG-1001 and DDG-1002 are the other 2) and are being carried out in the shipyard Huntington Ingalls Industries in Pascagoula, Mississippi.
The shipyard workers are replacing the double gun turrets with missile tubes. Once completed, the USS Zumwalt will be capable of rapid, precise strikes from great distances. Modernization work began in August 2023 and is scheduled to to be completed in 2025. Once completed, this new ability can help improve your reputation.
‘It was a costly mistake. But the Navy could take advantage of this and make a profit turning them into a hypersonic platform‘, he pointed out Bryan Clarkdefense analyst at the Hudson Institute, told the Associated Press (AP).
Stealth destroyer to be home for 1st hypersonic weapon on a US warship https://t.co/C6qOYSUwzM
—The Associated Press (@AP) November 30, 2024
The first US Navy ship with hypersonic missiles
In this way, the Navy is converting this stealth destroyer, the largest in the world with its 180 meters in length and 15,000 tons of displacementin what they call boats ‘Conventional Fast Attack’. This means that new hypersonic weapons will be launched as a ballistic missile and then they will release a hypersonic glider vehicle that will travel at seven or eight times the speed of sound before reaching your goal.
The Navy and Army are jointly developing the hypersonic missiles that the ship will carry. Each Zumwalt-class destroyer will have 4 missile tubes, each with capacity for 3 missiles, which will allow a total of 12 hypersonic weapons per ship.
Originally, the USS Zumwalt was designed to provide ground attack capabilities using an ‘Advanced Gun System’ with rocket-assisted projectiles to support the landing of Marines on the coast. However, the system, which featured 155mm cannons hidden in stealth turrets, was canceled due to high cost of rocket-assisted projectileswhich ranged between 800,000 and 1 million dollars each.
The destroyer with the most advanced technology
Despite their reputation, the three Zumwalt-class destroyers remain the Navy’s most advanced surface ships in terms of new technologies. These innovations include electric propulsion, an angular design that reduces radar signatures, an unconventional wave-piercing hull, automated fire and damage control systems, and a composite superstructure that conceals radars and other sensors.
The rear admiral Ray SpicerCEO of US Naval Instituteexplained to AP that hypersonic missiles will allow ships to attack the enemy from thousands of kilometers away, well out of range of most enemy weapons. They are also very difficult to counter.
‘Deploying new capabilities based on hypersonic technologies is a priority for the Department of Defense to maintain and strengthen our integrated deterrence and build lasting advantages,’ he stated.
According to the spokeswoman for the Huntington Ingalls Industries shipyard, Kimberly Aguillardthe ship is expected to be returned to the water this week in preparation for the next round of testing and its return to the fleet. However, you may have to wait until 2027 or 2028 for the missiles to be installed.