Summary and Top Points You Need to Know: Isaac Seitz, a defense columnist and strategic intelligence analyst, evaluates the high-stakes “rebirth” of the USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000) as the U.S. Navy’s premier hypersonic strike platform in 2026.
-After the failure of its Advanced Gun System (AGS), the 16,000-ton stealth destroyer has been retrofitted with 12 Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) launchers.
-This report analyzes the 2026 sea trials and the integration of the Common Hypersonic Glide Body (C-HGB), which allows the ship to strike high-value targets at Mach 5+.
-Seitz concludes that Zumwalt’s transition from a “failed” land-attack ship to a survivable hypersonic powerhouse defines a new era of American surface warfare.
The Zumwalt Rebirth: Why the Navy’s Stealth Destroyer is Now a Hypersonic Powerhouse in 2026
Earlier this year, it was announced that the troubled Zumwalt-class destroyers are starting to hit the waves again as the USS Zumwalt (DDG1000) recently concluded her sea trials after a long modernization process.
While the Zumwalt-class is losing its Advanced Gun System, it is gaining 12 Conventional Prompt Strike launchers, which give the ships the ability to launch hypersonic missiles.
Currently, Zumwalt is the only ship of the class with CPS integrated; Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG1002) is undergoing modernization, and Michael Monsoor (DDG1001) is set to receive upgrades later.
The Death and Rebirth of the Zumwalt-class
Originally conceived as land-attack destroyers with advanced naval gunfire support capability, the ships were built around AGS guns intended to fire Long-Range Land-Attack Projectiles.
When the LRLAP ammunition program became prohibitively expensive and was ultimately canceled, the guns were left with no viable rounds, leaving the Navy with three highly advanced, power-rich destroyers but without a meaningful main battery. The class was heavily criticized for being a waste of everybody’s time and money.
Zumwalt-Class Destroyer U.S. Navy.
The Guided-missile destroyer USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) departs San Diego as part of an operational underway. The milestone demonstrates the U.S. Navy’s commitment to advancing the lethality of its surface combatants by integrating cutting-edge technologies in Zumwalt’s combat systems, weapons, and engineering plants. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Natalie M. Byers)
Zumwalt-Class, the largest destroyer on Earth today.
Zumwalt-Class. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
By 2023, the Navy made the bold decision to strip out both guns and convert the destroyers into long-range hypersonic strike platforms. The decision meant repurposing large volumes of internal space extending several decks below the forward gun position and reclaiming useful area beneath the aft mount as well.
What replaced the guns is a weapons architecture unlike anything previously installed on a U.S. surface combatant.
Four 87-inch-diameter missile launch tubes were embedded in the bow, each capable of housing an Advanced Payload Module that holds three CPS missiles. The result is a 12-round hypersonic magazine, the first of its kind aboard an American surface warship.
These launcher modules closely resemble the vertical launch systems planned for Virginia-class Block V submarines, allowing the Navy to use the Zumwalt conversions as real-world risk-reduction testbeds for the undersea fleet’s future CPS deployment.
The Conventional Prompt Strike System
Rather than functioning as a traditional ballistic or cruise missile, CPS uses a two-stage solid rocket booster to deliver a Common Hypersonic Glide Body (C-HGB) to extreme speeds, after which it releases and maneuvers unpredictably toward its target.
This design allows CPS to fly above Mach 5 while exploiting lower, non-ballistic trajectories that make detection and interception exceptionally difficult. Both the Army and the Navy share the same “all-up-round” missile, which has allowed the services to consolidate development and accelerate testing.
(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)
FROM 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)
Their progress was demonstrated by a series of successful end-to-end flight tests in 2024 and, more notably, by the Navy’s successful cold-gas ejection demonstration in May 2025, which safely pushes the missile clear of a ship before booster ignition. These events eliminated the last major engineering hurdles that previously stood between the program and its first full-scale at-sea launch.
With Zumwalt now back at sea, the Navy’s modernization strategy for the class has come into sharper focus.
The ship’s January 2026 ship builder trials validated her propulsion, combat-systems interfaces, and structural modifications after her time ashore, confirming that the conversion had not compromised the destroyer’s signature power-generation capacity or low-observable design. This underway period formally reopened the destroyer’s operational life as a radically reconfigured platform, effectively rebirthing it as the Navy’s first hypersonic-armed surface combatant.
Why the Zumwalt-class is Now a Big Deal
Instead of conducting the availability solely in dry dock, Ingalls moved Zumwalt completely ashore, treating the overhaul more like new-construction assembly work.
This unique approach was described by some officials as a “build-yard modernization” period, enabling shipyard teams to sequence structural changes more efficiently and avoid the bottlenecks typical of repair shipyards. This method, first used on Zumwalt, may influence future deep conversions across the fleet.
While there are still concerns about the Zumwalt-class, the integration of CPS into these vessels makes them an important asset to the U.S. Navy.
A 16,000-ton destroyer with a stealth-oriented hull, vast electrical power reserves, and a 12-round hypersonic battery offers a uniquely survivable and flexible strike asset. The ship can hold high-value targets at risk from thousands of miles away while remaining difficult to detect.
The retention of the ship’s original 80 Mk 57 Peripheral VLS cells further expands the destroyer’s mission options, allowing commanders to mix hypersonic CPS rounds with Tomahawk cruise missiles, SM-6 interceptors, and other long-range weapons according to evolving operational requirements.
Zumwalt leads the class back into service while the other two destroyers are following close behind. USS Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG-1002) began its CPS integration period in early 2025 after entering dry dock at Ingalls, where the Navy has extended its combat-system activation timeline by roughly two years to incorporate the same bow launcher conversion.
The Navy’s sequencing allows USS Michael Monsoor (DDG-1001) to remain operational long enough to maintain a Zumwalt presence at sea, providing important fleet experience while the other two destroyers undergo structural work. Monsoor is set to arrive at Ingalls in 2026 for her own conversion, after which all three ships will eventually carry the 12-round CPS battery.
About the Author: Isaac Seitz
Isaac Seitz, a Defense Columnist, graduated from Patrick Henry College’s Strategic Intelligence and National Security program. He has also studied Russian at Middlebury Language Schools and has worked as an intelligence Analyst in the private sector.
