Few naval vessels in the history of modern warfare have generated as much controversy, disillusionment, and now guarded hope as the USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000).
Designed to be the cutting edge of a new generation of stealthy, multi-mission destroyers, Zumwalt’s path has been characterized by technical challenges, skyrocketing expenses, and changing strategic imperatives.
The Zumwalt-class was intended to span today’s requirements with tomorrow’s naval warfare. Its wave-piercing tumblehome hull, low radar cross-section, and integrated power system capable of generating 78 megawatts of electricity—enough to light a small town—was a quantum leap for naval engineering.
With a radar cross-section fifty times lower than the Arleigh Burke-class, a composite superstructure, and electronically steered arrays, Zumwalt was invisible to enemy sensors. But the program rapidly encountered difficulties.
Only three of the planned 32 ships were finished, each of which had a price of over $4 billion. Its initial purpose—firing gunfire support with the 155mm Advanced Gun System—was thwarted by ammunition prices of $800,000 a shot, so the fleet ended up with massive guns but not feasible munitions.
In 2023, the ship had a big change when the Navy started to put in a quick, new missile system named Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS).
This was done at HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi. They took out the old gun bits and put in new tubes for a sort of missile called Intermediate-Range Conventional Prompt Strike (IRCPS). By December 2024, the ship left the dock, set to rejoin the main fleet.
The CPS program is an Army-Navy partnership. Its hypersonic cruise missile, launched from a rocket booster and traveling up to Mach 6, has a boost-glide trajectory that renders interception extremely challenging.
Zumwalt’s new hypersonic missile tubes, three such missiles per tube, replace the previous gun turrets, enabling the vessel to carry a maximum of 12 hypersonics. In turn, its 80 Mk 57 Vertical Launch System cells stand by for Tomahawk, Evolved Sea Sparrow, Standard Missiles, and Vertical Launch ASROC, providing the ship unparalleled flexibility. HII is also modifying the Mk 41 and Mk 57 systems to allow Zumwalt-class ships to fire any missile from any cell, expanding their combat versatility even further.
Strategically, Zumwalt’s redesign responds to the acceleration of global naval modernization. Next-generation surface combatants and missile defense systems have ratcheted up the Pacific and beyond.
The ship’s stealth, acceleration, and hypersonic reach enable it to attack high-priority, time-critical targets deep within enemy defenses without being found—a capability ever more critical in hostile seas.
Problems stick around. The ship’s curved hull, though hard to see, faces big risks in rough waters and lacks close-range fight gear (CIWS), showing clear weak spots. With only three ships of its type, each one full of new tech, keeping them fixed and updated costs a lot.
There are plans to swap out Zumwalt’s radar and fight tech for more common gear, like the Enterprise Air Surveillance Radar (EASR) and Aegis Combat System, to cut costs on supplies.
The wider sea fight scene is tough. Keeping old Ticonderoga-class cruisers and Arleigh Burke-class destroyers afloat puts stress on getting enough ships, while newer plans like the DDG(X) are still just plans.
Though ship-making in the world is on the rise, the big question is whether having better tech will be enough to beat having more ships in a future fight.