Advanced Zumwalt destroyers to host US Navy’s 1st hypersonic weapon

[Ryan Robertson]

AFTER SPENDING BILLIONS OF DOLLARS ON WARSHIPS WITHOUT A MISSION–

THE U-S NAVY IS ON THE VERGE OF TURNING THREE OF ITS BIGGEST BLUNDERS INTO A HYPERSONIC HEAVYWEIGHTS.

THE USS ZUMWALT IS THE LARGEST AND MOST TECHNOLOGICALLY ADVANCED SURFACE VESSEL EVER BUILT. AND AT A COST OF $7.5 BILLION, IT’S ALSO THE MOST EXPENSIVE DESTROYER IN HISTORY. 

ZUMWALT’S WERE MEANT TO REPLACE ARLEIGH-BURKE CLASS DESTROYERS. THE NAVY ONLY BUILT THREE ZUMWALTS BEFORE ABANDONING THE DESIGN–

BUT THEY ARE STILL THE MOST ADVANCED SURFACE SHIPS THE NAVY OWNS.

ZUMWALTS HAVE INNOVATIONS LIKE ELECTRIC PROPULSION, UNCONVENTIONAL HULLS, AND YOU MIGHT HAVE NOTICED THE ANGULAR SHAPE OF THE SHIP–

MEANT TO MINIMIZE RADAR SIGNATURES. 

ZUMWALTS CAN FIRE MUNITIONS LIKE THE STANDARD MISSILE IN THEIR VERTICAL LAUNCHERS–BUT THEY WERE ALSO DESIGNED TO USE SOME SUPER ADVANCED 155MM ARTILLERY GUNS AT THE FRONT OF THE SHIP IN SUPPORT OF LAND FORCES. BUT THE PRICE PER ROUND WAS CLOSE TO A MILLION DOLLARS–SO THOSE GUNS NEVER WENT OPERATIONAL. 

WHILE THE ZUMWALTS WERE USED AS TESTING PLATFORMS FOR NEW INNOVATIONS–THE NAVY STILL WANTED TO GET A LITTLE MORE BANG FOR ITS BUCK.

SO, A FEW MONTHS–AT A HUNTINGTON INGALLS SHIPYARD IN MISSISSIPPI–THE NAVY STARTED WORKING TO REMOVE THE NON-OPERATIONAL GUNS ON THE FRONT OF THE USS ZUMWALT–AND REPLACE THEM WITH A NEW LAUNCHING SYSTEM FOR THE CONVENTIONAL PROMPT STRIKE WEAPON. 

WHEN IT’S ALL SAID AND DONE EACH ZUMWALT-CLASS DESTROYER WILL BE ABLE TO HOLD 12 CPS MISSILES. 

CPS IS ONE OF THE HYPERSONIC WEAPONS THE US IS CURRENTLY DEVELOPING. THE NAVY AND ARMY CONDUCTED NUMEROUS LAND-BASED TESTS. NOW, THE NAVY SAYS ITS ON TRACK TO START TESTING CPS ON ZUMWALTS IN 2027 OR 2028. 

HYPERSONIC WEAPONS ARE MISSILES THAT CAN TRAVEL AT LEAST FIVE TIMES FASTER THAN THE SPEED OF SOUND, BUT ARE STILL ABLE TO MANUEUVER.

THIS IS AN IMPORTANT DISTINCTION, BECAUSE BALLISTIC MISSILES CAN TRAVEL MUCH FASTER THAN THE SPEED OF SOUND–BUT THEY TAKE A PREDICTABLE PATH AND ARE EASIER TO INTERCEPT THAN SOMETHING DESIGNED TO AVOID INTERCEPTORS. 

A CONVENTIONAL PROMPT STRIKE MISSILE IS MADE UP OF DIFFERENT COMPONENTS–BUT ON THE BUSINESS END OF THE WEAPON IS A HYPERSONIC GLIDE VEHICLE THAT WILL DO THE MANEUVERING AND ACTUALLY IMPACT THE TARGET.

RETROFITTING ZUMWALTS WITH HYPERSONIC WEAPONS LIKE CPS IS ENOUGH FOR ONE DEFENSE ANALYST AT THE HUDSON INSTITUTE TO SAY THE NAVY IS TAKING VICTORY FROM THE JAWS OF DEFEAT. 

RUSSIA CLAIMS TO HAVE HYPERSONIC WEAPONS—BUT UKRAINE WAS ABLE TO COUNTER THEM WITH U-S SUPPLIED WEAPONRY. CHINA DOES HAVE HYPERSONIC MISSILES, AND THE PENTAGON CONFIRMED AS MUCH ACCORDING TO THE LEAKED DOCUMENTS JACK TEXEIRA POSTED ONLINE. 

CRITICS SAY HYPERSONICS ARE TOO EXPENSIVE AND JUST OFFER A WAY TO HIT SOMETHING FAR AWAY REALLY FAST. THE CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE SAYS IT WILL COST ABOUT $18 BILLION TO BUY 300 CPS WEAPONS AND MAINTAIN THEM FOR 20 YEARS. 

BUT SUPPORTERS SAY THE COST OF NOT DEVELOPING HYPERSONICS COULD BE STEEPER, ARGUING  IF ITS ADVERSARIES HAVE THEM, THE U-S SHOULD TOO.  

FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS, I’M RYAN ROBERTSON–IF YOU WANT MORE UNBIASED STRAIGHT FACT REPORTING LIKE THIS–BE SURE TO DOWNLOAD THE STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS APP TODAY–OR CHECK US OUT AT SAN.COM