The U.S. Navy accelerates its plans for the arming of Zumwalt-class destroyers with hypersonic missiles, taking naval warfare capabilities to a whole new level. The USS Zumwalt, DDG-1000, will begin a modernization period at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi, sometime late next year, according to Vice Adm. Johnny Wolfe, who leads the Navy’s strategic systems programs. The upgrade will include fitting the vessel with four 87-inch missile tubes, each of which can carry multiple hypersonic missiles.
“We’re talking about deploying this system on DDG-1000 in 2025, that’s three years from now,” Wolfe said, underlining the urgency of the project. Modernization will feature the replacement of the existing 155mm gun mounts of the ship with the new missile tubes in a bid to enhance its combat capabilities.
Plans will send USS Michael Monsoor, DDG-1001, to Ingalls for similar upgrades, but it’s not clear whether the third Zumwalt-class ship, Lyndon B. Johnson, DDG-1002, already at Ingalls, will have the hypersonic missile system installed as part of its combat systems activation period.
The decision to arm the Zumwalt class with hypersonic missiles followed an earlier 2017 directive to convert these ships into blue-water combatants. According to the Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday, earlier this year there had been an accelerator element in the case of hypersonic weapons deployment concerning the Zumwalt class; he further mentioned that “I need a solid mission for Zumwalt.”.
The hypersonic missiles were part of a joint program between the Navy and the Army to support the Pentagon’s prompt global strike mission, providing the ability to launch conventional strikes almost anywhere in the world within a short period. It will come in incredibly fast—more than five times the speed of sound—another tool to be used under the Navy.
He said the Navy is developing a glide body launched from a booster system, making it an “all-up round” that can be used by either service. When asked about the recent test where the glide body failed to strike the target, Wolfe assured it identified and corrected the flaw within two months.
Though hypersonic missiles are conventional—nonnuclear—weapons, Wolfe underscored that they were strategic. “You can hold very high-value targets at risk … and you can do that with all these various platforms,” he mentioned, outlining the versatility of the weapon about different military branches.
Zumwalt-class destroyers will become the Navy’s first platforms to host the missiles. Army versions of the missiles will be launched from trucks and are planned for fielding next year. By 2029, the weapons also will be installed on Virginia-class submarines with the Virginia Payload Module.
The Navy is constructing a test facility to launch the new weapon underwater that emulates the conditions aboard Zumwalt ships and Virginia class submarines. Wolfe said the first challenge was to develop an air-launch system to allow the weapon to safely deploy from a Zumwalt destroyer: “We have proven that we did that testing … That is the next challenge, is build the underwater launch.”.
Despite all of the tight deadlines, Wolfe said he was optimistic about hitting the Navy’s ambitious timeline: “I think we’re on a pretty good path right now, but time is not our friend.”.
USS Zumwalt returned from an operational deployment to the Western Pacific, where it conducted various joint and bilateral training exercises over three months. It was a significant milestone for a ship that had been underway delayed since its commissioning in 2016 due to several setbacks and technical problems.
As the Navy pushes forward with its hypersonic missile program, the Zumwalt-class destroyers are on pace to become some of the most advanced, most lethal ships in the fleet for modern challenges in naval warfare.