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Zumwalt: The US Navy’s Great Stealth Destroyer Failure?

Zumwalt-class
An artist rendering of the Zumwalt class destroyer DDG 1000, a new class of multi-mission U.S. Navy surface combatant ship designed to operate as part of a joint maritime fleet, assisting Marine strike forces ashore as well as performing littoral, air and sub-surface warfare.

The Zumwalt-Class Destroyer Fell Short of Expectations – The United States Navy’s Zumwalt-class destroyer was billed as the future of naval warfare. Designed to incorporate brand new stealth technology, and brand-new weapons systems, the Zumwalt was to replace the aging Arleigh Burke-class. Initially, the Navy was scheduled to procure 32 Zumwalts. But the program went rampantly overbudget while the new ship performed below expectations. The Navy withdrew support, asking Congress to stop procuring Zumwalts and instead build more of the familiar, reliable Arleigh Burke destroyers. Congress obliged and only three Zumwalts were ever delivered. 

The Zumwalt-Class incorporated stealth technology

The Zumwalt was an ambitious project, full of innovative technology. For starters, the Zumwalt was a stealth ship. Despite being 40 percent larger than the Arleigh Burke, the Zumwalt has a radar cross-section (RCS) comparable to a fishing boat. The key to such a deceptive RCS is the Zumwalts hull design. The Zumwalt’s hull grows narrower above the waterline, in a tumblehome style. The tumblehome was common on wooden warships and had a flare of popularity with steel warships in the late 19th century. But when three of four Russian tumblehome battleships were lost in the Russo-Japanese War, the design was declared ineffective for modern warfare and fell out of style for nearly one hundred years. Now, stealth-seeking modern navies are reintroducing the shape to meet low-RCS requirements. 

In addition to the tumblehome design, the Zumwalt has a composite deckhouse, which encases the ship’s sensory and electronic equipment in low RCS material. Between the tumblehome hull and the composite deckhouse, the Zumwalt’s RCS is about 50 times harder to detect on radar than older destroyers. And the Zumwalt is quiet—with an acoustic signature more similar to a Los Angeles-class submarine than a surface warship.     

However, the applicability of the Zumwalt’s stealth has been called into question. The Zumwalt was designed to provide Naval Surface Fire Support with a focus on land attacks. So, the Zumwalt was meant to operate in typically crowded, near-shore waters where ships can be tracked visually. And the Zumwalt, naturally, was intended to fire its impressive arsenal—meaning, that once the ship started firing, its stealth properties would be compromised.  

The Zumwalt-Class was outfitted with modern weaponry

To adequately provide Naval Surface Fire Support, the Zumwalt was designed around a bevy of modern weapons. Actually, a bevy of modern weapons were designed around the Zumwalt.

BAE built the Advanced Gun System (AGS), a naval artillery system, specifically for the Zumwalt. And Lockheed Martin built the Long Range Land Attack Projectile (LRLAP) as ammunition specifically for the AGS. In fact, the AGS cannot operate without the LRLAP—a rocket-assisted, 155m projectile with fin glide trajectory. So, when the Navy cancelled procurement of the LRLAP, the AGS was left without ammunition. That’s right: The AGS does not have any ammunition. 

Zumwalt F-22

181207-N-IW125-1021
SAN DIEGO (Dec. 7, 2018) The Pre-Commissioning Unit (PCU) Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001) arrives in homeport of San Diego. The future USS Michael Monsoor is the second ship in the Zumwalt-class of guided- missile destroyers and will undergo a combat availability and test period. The ship is scheduled to be commissioned into the U.S. Navy Jan 26, 2019 in Coronado, Cailf. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Nicholas Huynh/Released)

Last Zumwalt-class Destroyer

151207-N-ZZ999-435.ATLANTIC OCEAN (Dec. 7, 2015) The future USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) is underway for the first time conducting at-sea tests and trials in the Atlantic Ocean Dec. 7, 2015. The multimission ship will provide independent forward presence and deterrence, support special operations forces, and operate as an integral part of joint and combined expeditionary forces. (U.S. Navy photo courtesy of General Dynamics Bath Iron Works/Released)

SAN DIEGO (Dec. 7, 2018) The Pre-Commissioning Unit (PCU) Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001) arrives in homeport of San Diego. The future USS Michael Monsoor is the second ship in the Zumwalt-class of guided- missile destroyers and will undergo a combat availability and test period. The ship is scheduled to be commissioned into the U.S. Navy Jan 26, 2019 in Coronado, Cailf. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Nicholas Huynh/Released) 181207-N-IW125-1021

The LRLAP worked well—performance wasn’t the issue. Testing proved the LRLAP could hit a target accurately from 59 miles away. No, the LRLAP’s problem was cost. When the Zumwalt-class was slashed from 32 ships to just three, the need for LRLAP shells went down, too. Meaning, the cost behind developing each shell went up. Way up. The cost per individual LRLAP shell rose to an unacceptable $800,000-$1,000,000—roughly the same as a Tomahawk cruise missile. The Navy’s original plan, to buy 2,000 LRLAP rounds, would have cost about $2 billion. The ammo-less AGSs will be removed from the Zumwalts in 2023. 

Accordingly, the Zumwalt-class will get a new weapons platform: hypersonic missiles

Harrison Kass was born in New York City and raised in Newtown, Connecticut. He has since lived in ten U.S. states, plus New Zealand. Kass is currently pursuing a Master’s in Journalism and International Relations from NYU. Harrison is an attorney, pilot, guitarist, and pro hockey player. His top five movies are: The Natural, Hook, Top Gun, E.T., and Field of Dreams. He regularly listens to Dokken.

Written By

Harrison Kass is a Senior Defense Editor at 19FortyFive. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, he joined the US Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison has degrees from Lake Forest College, the University of Oregon School of Law, and New York University’s Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. He lives in Oregon and regularly listens to Dokken.

8 Comments

8 Comments

  1. siempre

    April 23, 2022 at 12:31 pm

    Everything Zumwalt us just ridiculous. Zumwalt was designed as a bombardment ship. It had a radar signature that any competent navy would instantly recognize.
    The US navy has become both corrupt and woke.
    Between building ridiculous, expensive hulls with no combat utility and firing commanders because mixed gender crews have issues with sex, the US Navy is broken.

    • Boom boom

      April 23, 2022 at 4:54 pm

      Siempre, you’re 100% correct. The problem is imo, stems from i think, most people in Navy are in it for themselves. People are more worried about career progression, and a lot of it includes wokeness, and non mission oriented tasks. Ie: volunteer service and waate of time committees.

    • Clark T Schoening

      April 23, 2022 at 6:38 pm

      It served it’s purpose! Profit for contractors and campaign contributions for congress.?

    • Manuel Salazar

      April 24, 2022 at 4:33 pm

      U.S. Underwater and surface stealth fighter high performance radar x – combat fighter drones.

  2. Kathy

    April 23, 2022 at 7:38 pm

    Did it make some douchebag in McClean rich? Then how can it be a failure?

  3. TermLimits

    April 27, 2022 at 1:20 am

    Other than the AGS, which as the article states, became unacceptable expensive per round, I have not read anywhere the Zumwalt does NOT surpass the Arliegh Burkes’. All the comments I have read from the Zumwalt class’ captains have each been very positive.
    So they are being refitted with cruise missiles and other than that, tell me why the Navy is not investing additional billions to invent another ship to replace the AB’s when they have one already in the Zumwalt.

  4. Freecell 20K

    February 2, 2023 at 10:43 pm

    From Wikipedia: During tests conducted in 2018, the M777 howitzer was able to double its range through the use of higher energy propellant and rocket-assisted projectiles; hitting targets over 37 mi (60 km) away. Using the same principles, the Extended Range Cannon Artillery was developed.[2] BAE Systems was given a $45 million contract in 2019 to incorporate the ERCA’s cannon into a M109 chassis,[3] which was unveiled at that year’s Association for the United States Army.[4]
    Increased range and accuracy is accomplished by having a longer barrel, at 58 calibers long, and by using the XM1113 rocket-assisted artillery shell. In 2020, the ERCA successfully hit a target 43 mi (69 km) away, which is over twice the range typically achieved by an M777 using the same round.[5][6][7][8]
    According to the United States Army, the howitzer was to be completed in 2021 and undergo operational assessment in 2023.[9] It is expected to be fitted with an autoloader in 2025, which could increase its rate of fire from 3 to 10 rounds per minute.[10]

  5. Freecell 20K

    February 2, 2023 at 10:59 pm

    The Russians already have an autoloading 130mm autoloading dual cannon in a rotating turret that uses one-piece ammo and fires up to 90 rounds per minute.
    Design should be adaptable to Zumwalt and Burke for that matter. Approved circa 1987. Youtube war gamers show that ammo gets used up on a distance priority, so missiles go first long range to short, then guns. If you want volume get a heavy C-17 0r B1-R and deliver them en mass. Army has used 155mm shells since WWII. New ones are quite advanced and tried out in Ukraine.

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