Zumwalt will begin work to receive hypersonic weapons in October
2023.
US NAVY
The US Navy has selected Huntington Ingalls Industries to install hypersonic missiles on the Zumwalt class destroyers USS Zumwalt and USS Michael Monsoor. The retrofit process will involve the removal of both 155mm Advanced Gun System mounts and associated below deck infrastructure to accommodate launch tubes for the Vertical Launch System for the Common Hypersonic Glide Body (C-HGB) developed for the Army, Air Force and Navy.
The work will take place during each destroyer’s next planned dry-docking period. Details about the cost of the programme and the number of missiles to be carried have yet to be revealed.
The primary role of the Zumwalt class ships was originally as surface fire support platforms, with the 155mm Advanced Gun System designed to fire rocket-launched Long Range Land Attack Projectiles at long ranges. However, this was curtailed by the uneconomic cost of LRLAP rounds, leaving the ships without a dedicated mission. Their new main role will be as surface attack vessels.