Key Points and Summary: The Zumwalt-class destroyers, once criticized for their high costs, are now set to revolutionize naval warfare as the first U.S. Navy surface ships armed with hypersonic missiles.
-Equipped with Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) missiles capable of speeds exceeding Mach 5, these stealthy warships can strike targets up to 1,725 miles away with precision and speed.
-Extensive refits on the USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000) include new missile tubes for enhanced firepower.
-The CPS missiles will provide a rapid, stealthy option for neutralizing high-value targets, giving the Navy an edge in modern warfare. The Zumwalt-class is evolving into a critical asset in U.S. defense strategy.
Zumwalt-Class Destroyers: Transforming into Hypersonic Missile Titans
The first Zumwalt-Class destroyer (DDG-1000) was commissioned in 2016, the second (DDG-1001) was commissioned in 2019 and the third in class will follow suit by 2027 (DDG-1002). These vessels represent the newest class of destroyers since the launch of the first Arleigh Burke destroyer entered into service with the US Navy in 1991.
Unfortunately, the Zumwalt’s represent the smallest destroyer class, with only three vessels to the class’s ranks, down from a planned 32. The reduction in the fleet size is due to their price tag. The cumulative price for the three ships is approximately $12 billion, compared to a Burke, which runs at about $1.5 billion per unit.
Despite the price, the Zumwalt-Class destroyers are very sophisticated and are considered a stealth vessel due to their design. As a result, despite being about 40 percent larger than an Arleigh Burke destroyer, the Zumwalt-Class, with a displacement of nearly 16,000 tons, has a radar cross-section the size of a small fishing boat.
The Zumwalt-Class will be the First Surface Combatants Armed with Hypersonic Missiles
The latest news regarding these vessels is that they will be the first US Navy surface combatants armed with hypersonic missiles. This class of missile travels at a minimum of Mach 5 or 1.06 miles per second.
To this end, the Zumwalt class will pack the Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) missile. The CPS missile travels in excess of Mach 5, possibly as high as Mach 7, making it exceptionally difficult to intercept. With a range of up to 1,725 miles, the missile will enable the Navy to hold high-value targets at risk from a great distance.
The CPS is a joint missile program developed by the US Navy and the Army in order to deploy a long-range hypersonic missile that carries a re-entry vehicle called a Common Hypersonic Glide Body (CHGB). Once released from the booster, the CHGB can maneuver in its terminal phase, making it exceptionally difficult to target and intercept, unlike a ballistic missile, which follows a predictable trajectory.
With the modifications to each Zumwalt destroyer, they will be equipped with four forward missile tubes situated in front of the remaining turret. Each missile tube will be armed with three CPS missiles, for twelve total hypersonic missiles per destroyer. The hypersonic missiles are in addition to its 80 peripherally-mounted Tomahawk missile cells (these missiles are situated between the inner and outer hull).
Converting the Zumwalt-Class into a Hypersonic Missile Slinging Beast
The USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000) entered Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi, in August 2023 to begin the refit process necessary to install the missile tubes. By December that year, the USS Zumwalt formally began the refit process within HII floating drydock.
At the beginning of 2024, specialist trade workers at the shipyard removed the massive 155mm forward-most gun turret. This was followed by the removal of all the associated machinery and the weapons magazine, all of which descended several decks. Work was completed by March 2024.
Following this procedure, the foundation for the missiles and additional bulkheads was installed, completion of this phase was completed by September 2024. Finally, the installation of the 87-inch diameter, CPS multi-missile tubes was completed by October 2024, and the vessel was back in the water around the beginning of 2025. Completion of the refit process will occur later this year.
The Mission of the Conventional Prompt Strike Missile
The CPS missile aboard the Zumwalt destroyers and later aboard the Block V Virginia Class submarines will allow the US Navy to quickly hit targets deep inside an enemy’s territory, or if that target was anywhere outside the US forward deployed bases. The CPS missiles would prove particularly valuable when used to degrade an opponent’s defensive infrastructure at the outset of a conflict, paving the way for follow-on strikes.
During a military confrontation, timing is of the greatest importance. Thus, the CPS missile allows the Navy to execute an attack in a matter of minutes or hours. With the CPS missile, those targets can be hit even without a permanent US military presence in the region.
Zumwalt-Class: Strike Early and Strike Hard
The ability to deny an enemy access to its weapons could be pivotal at the outset of a conflict. To this point, CPS missiles can target an enemy’s ballistic missiles, weapons stockpiles, or weapons of mass destruction. Such strikes can limit or greatly diminish the potency of an enemy’s military and enhance the safety of US military personnel in a conflict zone.
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
Additionally, CPS missiles can be put to good use in targeting an enemy’s command and control infrastructure. Such strikes will hinder the ability of an enemy to make battlefield or theater assessments, effectively deploy personnel to high-risk areas, and disrupt their ability to communicate between units, negatively affecting their ability to coordinate. All of this would play into the hands of US commanders, enabling them to capitalize on the chaos for further battlefield gains.
Finally, the CPS missiles can be readily employed to hit high-priority targets within a very small window of opportunity. Such targets may include top leadership cells that could suddenly be forced to move during a conflict or mobile weapon systems, that had been kept hidden. Regardless, these targets could be located and hit with great speed and precision due to the advanced nature of the CPS missile system.
Pulling Victory out of the Mouth of Defeat
The Zumwalt-Class destroyers were an expensive experiment, one that the Navy did the right thing by canceling additional ships. While this class of vessel will never see its numbers fill out to what was previously expected, the Navy now has three stealth destroyers, all capable of carrying one of the world’s most advanced hypersonic missiles.
Given that these three vessels have such a small radar cross-section, they will provide the Navy with a mobile, stealth platform capable of delivering hypersonic missiles directly onto high-value, difficult-to-access, and, if needed, time-sensitive targets. Targets will be totally destroyed.
(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). Zumwalt-Class
These capabilities will be compounded when the Block V Virginia Class submarines are equipped with these missiles and when the DDG (X) program gets underway, which will also carry the CPS missile.
The US military’s hypersonic future is upon us, and it is bright.
About the Author: Christian P. Martin
Christian P. Martin is a Michigan-based writer; he earned a Master’s degree in Defense & Strategic Studies (Summa cum laude) from the University of Texas, El Paso. Currently, he is a research assistant at the Asia Pacific Security Innovation Forum. Concerning writing, he has published several dozen articles in places like Simple Flying, SOFREP, SOF News, and other outlets.
