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How to Save the Zumwalt-Class Destroyer: Hypersonic Weapons

Zumwalt-Class
Zumwalt-Class. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

Key Points and Summary: The U.S. Navy’s troubled Zumwalt-class destroyers are receiving a lifeline through the integration of Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) hypersonic missiles.

-The Lyndon B. Johnson, second in the class, is undergoing modifications to fire these high-speed weapons, promising global reach and offensive power.

-This effort seeks to salvage a program plagued by cost overruns, failed main guns, and reduced fleet numbers.

-Hypersonic missiles could redefine the Zumwalt-class as formidable 21st-century combatants, aligning with the Navy’s strategy for great-power competition.

-If successful, this transformation may validate the program’s steep costs and its potential role in future conflicts.

Zumwalt-Class Destroyers: Hypersonic Weapons Could Be the Saving Grace

The U.S. Navy is trying to remind the world that the Zumwalt-class destroyers are not going away.

 The maritime branch is fitting hypersonic weapons onto the Lyndon B. Johnson, a new Zumwalt warship. 

This is the second ship of the class to receive hypersonic weapons capability, and it gives the Lyndon B. Johnson a combat option that could allow it to have a brighter future.

The Future Is Now for Conventional Prompt Strike 

The Zumwalt-class destroyer is in dry dock at the Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Pascagoula Shipyard in Mississippi. 

The Navy wants to integrate the Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) missile system on the Lyndon B. Johnson. 

Conventional Prompt Strike aims to launch a munition that can strike anywhere in the world within an hour and avoid enemy air defenses

“Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG 1002) will be the second ship of the class to receive the large missile vertical launch system and CPS. We’ve extended the combat system activation period by two years to accomplish this installation. The CPS work was placed on contract in August and we dry-docked the ship on Sunday in preparation for land-level production,” said Captain Clint Lawler, Program Manager of the Zumwalt-class Destroyer program office. Lawler was speaking at a presentation at Surface Navy Association 2025.

The Navy plans for the Lyndon B. Johnson and other ships of the Zumwalt-class to be outfitted with Conventional Prompt Strike hopefully making this group of vessels the “Navy’s premier offensive surface combatants.”

Can Conventional Prompt Strike Be Trusted to Make the Zumwalt-Class Relevant? 

CPS is one way the Navy aims to be ready for a conflict with China or another adversary by 2027. 

Naval analysts and battle planners widely see that year as when China could invade or blockade Taiwan.

Hypersonics Are Part of Naval Playbook

The hypersonic missiles will take out critical enemy military targets in a high-threat environment, capabilities that fit into the Chief of Naval Operation’s Project 33

This is an audacious plan from Admiral Lisa Franchetti who is looking at ways to address great power threats into the 2030s and decisively win combat operations should they arise.

Troubled Main Gun Is Going Away to be Replaced by Vertical Launch System

CPS work was conducted on the USS Zumwalt last year. 

Two Advanced Gun Systems were replaced to allow for new missile launching tubes that could fire three hypersonic weapons from four large vertical launch tubes for 12 futuristic missiles. The launchers could be ready by 2027.

Lyndon B. Johnson will also be commissioned in 2027. USS Michael Monsoor will be a Zumwalt-class that will receive the hypersonic “back fit” in 2026.

Program Has Been Controversial

However, the Zumwalt-class has been a disappointment for the Navy. 

The service branch had planned to order 32 Zumwalts and now there are only three.

The main gun addition has failed, and schedule slips and cost overruns have plagued the program

The Zumwalt-class ships cost the Navy around $8 billion each, and it is not clear how much the fitting of hypersonic missiles on the vessels will add to that number.

Conventional Prompt Strike is the Last Gasp for the Zumwalt-Class

The Navy seems desperate to make the three ships relevant while ignoring the troubled history. 

But the Navy should be optimistic. Deploying hypersonic missiles could give the program a new lease on life. 

There needs to be some more redeeming qualities for the Zumwalt-class which is known for its low radar signature and distinctive design.

I’m willing to give the Zumwalt-class another chance to prove that it can be depended upon to make a difference in combat. Future naval warfare will be fixated on missiles. 

We have already seen this as the navy has launched numerous missiles, both offensive and defensive, against Houthi insurgents in Yemen. 

If the Zumwalts can indeed become hypersonic weapons destroyers, one could almost substantiate the cost. Conventional Prompt Strike fits into the naval blueprint that Admiral Franchetti has laid down. 

It is good that the Navy has a strategy for driving weapons acquisition and that the Chief of Naval Operations understands that the Zumwalts need a shot in the arm to become a part of the 21st-century battle plan. 

We have been tracking the Zumwalt-class of destroyers closely and, admittedly, have been critical of the program. 

However, the ships deserve another chance to show the price has been worth it. 

Conventional Prompt Strike saves the ships from being a cautionary tale in failed ship acquisition practices. 

Zumwalt-Class: A Story in Photos of This Stealth Destroyer

Zumwalt-class

210421-N-FC670-1062 PACIFIC OCEAN (April 21, 2021) Zumwalt-class guided-missile destroyer USS Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001) participates in U.S. Pacific Fleet’s Unmanned Systems Integrated Battle Problem (UxS IBP) 21, April 21. UxS IBP 21 integrates manned and unmanned capabilities into challenging operational scenarios to generate warfighting advantages. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Shannon Renfroe)

USS Zumwalt

SAN DIEGO (Dec. 8, 2016) The guided-missile destroyer USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) arrives at its new homeport in San Diego. Zumwalt, the Navy’s most technologically advanced surface ship, will now begin installation of combat systems, testing and evaluation and operation integration with the fleet. (U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Emiline L. M. Senn/Released)

USS Zumwalt

161208-N-ZF498-130 .SAN DIEGO (Dec. 8, 2016) The U.S. Navy’s newest warship, USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) passes Coronado bridge on its way to Naval Base San Diego. Zumwalt is the lead ship of a class of next-generation multi-mission destroyers, now homeported in San Diego. (U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Anthony N. Hilkowski/Released)

Zumwalt-class destroyer. Image Credit: Raytheon.

Zumwalt-class destroyer. Image Credit: Raytheon.

Zumwalt-class

PACIFIC OCEAN (Dec. 8, 2016) The guided-missile destroyer USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000), left, the Navy’s most technologically advanced surface ship, is underway in formation with the littoral combat ship USS Independence (LCS 2) on the final leg of its three-month journey to its new homeport in San Diego. Upon arrival, Zumwalt will begin installation of its combat systems, testing and evaluation, and operation integration with the fleet. (U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Ace Rheaume/Released)161208-N-SI773-0401

Zumwalt-class. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

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.

Warships

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)

(Oct. 15, 2016) The Navy's newest and most technologically advanced warship, USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000), is moored to the pier during a commissioning ceremony at North Locust Point in Baltimore. (U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Nathan Laird/Released)

(Oct. 15, 2016) The Navy’s newest and most technologically advanced warship, USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000), is moored to the pier during a commissioning ceremony at North Locust Point in Baltimore. (U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Nathan Laird/Released)

About the Author: Dr. Brent M. Eastwood

Brent M. Eastwood, PhD, is the author of Don’t Turn Your Back On the World: a Conservative Foreign Policy and Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare, plus two other books. Brent was the founder and CEO of a tech firm that predicted world events using artificial intelligence. He served as a legislative fellow for U.S. Senator Tim Scott and advised the senator on defense and foreign policy issues. He has taught at American University, George Washington University, and George Mason University. Brent is a former U.S. Army Infantry officer. He can be followed on X @BMEastwood.

Written By

Now serving as 1945s Defense and National Security Editor, Brent M. Eastwood, PhD, is the author of Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare. He is an Emerging Threats expert and former U.S. Army Infantry officer.

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