The US Navy's Cutting-Edge Zumwalt-Class Destroyers Will Be The First To Be Upgraded With Hypersonic Missiles

The main focus of the US Navy's research and development lies in hypersonic missiles designed to pass the speed of sound. First designated for launch from cruise-missile submarines, there are future plans to extend their deployment to other naval vessels. Nonetheless, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday has revealed that the Navy's initial deployment of hypersonic missiles will happen on Zumwalt -class guided-missile destroyers.

What is a hypersonic missile?

The Navy categorizes the hypersonic missile as a "conventional prompt strike weapon," using a standard hypersonic glide body developed in collaboration with the US Army. This body, housing the warhead, is propelled into flight by a conventional rocket booster. After detachment, the missile continues its trajectory toward the target.

While maintaining a constant speed, it retains its maneuverability.

The maneuverability is what makes hypersonic missiles so dangerous

This maneuvering capability, rather than its ability to exceed Mach 5, presents a challenge for defense systems, as all current defensive measures are not tailored to counter such missiles. This specific characteristic has elevated hypersonic missiles to a focal point of competition among the United States, Russia and China.

What is the Zumwalt -class of guided-missile destroyers?

The Zumwalt -class of guided-missile destroyers consists of just three ships: the USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000) Michael Monsoor (DDG-1001) and the upcoming Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG-1002). The lead ship was first delivered to the Navy in May 2016 and commissioned a few months later.

The guided-missile destroyers were designed by Northrop Grumman Ship Systems , and Raytheon Company served as the systems integrator. General Dynamics Bath Iron Works , Lockheed Martin , BAE Systems Land and Armament , and Boeing worked on the project as well.

The Navy is waiting on hypersonic missile development

The Zumwalt -class ships are specifically designed for operations in shallow coastal waters. Because of this, the Navy is actively equipping them to serve as robust platforms for blue-water surface warfare and naval strikes. Initially, their primary armament was planned to be the Advanced Gun System, featuring a pair of 155 mm guns capable of firing Long Range Land Attack Projectiles. However, the decision to reduce the number of Zumwalt -class ships to three resulted in a significant increase in the price per shell , reaching nearly $1 million each, prompting the Navy to reassess its original strategies.

Key challenges the Navy is currently facing include the incomplete development of hypersonic missiles and the limited size of the vertical-launch-system cells aboard Zumwalt -class destroyers, which prevents them from accommodating the new missiles.

The Virginia -class submarines may be next

In the middle of March 2021, the Navy solicited defense industry partners for ways to reconfigure the Zumwalt- class vessels, so they could handle the new hypersonic missiles. In the solicitation, they requested an advanced payload module that could carry the missiles in a “three-pack configuration.”

Gilday also mentioned that the Navy is looking for ways to use the power-generating abilities of the Zumwalt -class to use direct-energy weapons as a defense against emerging threats.

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After outfitting the Zumwalt -class guided-missile destroyers with the hypersonic missiles, the Navy plans to add the weapons to their Virginia -class submarines. The goal is to have the missiles on the former by 2025.