The USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000) was originally imagined as the future ship of the Navy—a thin, jagged destroyer with plenty of advanced technology and fitted with a pair of massive 155mm Advanced Gun Systems (AGS). The original plan was a grand one: a fleet of 32 Zumwalt-class ships that would combine raw muscle, stealth, and innovative design.
Reality, however, had other plans. Growing cost, technological hurdles, and changing Navy needs ultimately reduced that dream to a mere three ships, a $22 billion endeavor, scrapped for a stripped-down alternative. The AGS was Zumwalt’s main gun system, launching Long Range Land Attack Projectiles (LRLAP) with near-perfect accuracy.
In theory, it was revolutionary. In practice, the price of a round—around $800,000—made it impossible. As the Navy transitioned from shore bombardment to wider, longer-range operations, the AGS was rendered obsolete. Even more outlandish proposals, like railguns powered by Zumwalt’s tremendous energy systems, never came to fruition. Much of the promise of the ship early on went unrealized.
The story got revised with the Navy implementing hypersonic technology. Rather than primarily shelling shores, Zumwalt was upgraded to shoot Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) missiles. These are boost-glide missiles that travel over five times the speed of sound and can hit targets 1,700 miles away. Ingalls Shipbuilding in Mississippi did a major overhaul of the vessel to house these new missiles. The retired AGS mounts were removed and replaced with CPS launch canisters.
Zumwalt now carries four canisters on both sides, three missiles in each, for a total of a dozen hypersonic missiles. This is not an improvement—it’s a complete mission change. CPS missiles are designed to penetrate defenses and strike strategic targets before the enemy can retaliate. Later versions will even have the ability to adjust their course in flight, tracking targets at sea. Zumwalt’s power extends far beyond her guns.
Her Integrated Power System (IPS), driven by two Rolls-Royce MT30 gas turbines, produces a staggering 78 megawatts of electricity. Even when running at a slow 20 knots, she still has 58 megawatts to spare—enough to light up a small city.
That kind of abundance of power makes Zumwalt the perfect test bed for so-called third-generation technologies like high-energy lasers and advanced sensor systems. Her tumblehome hull wrapped in stealth and composite superstructure makes her much harder to detect than any destroyer to date.
Besides hypersonics, Zumwalt has a powerful arsenal. Eighty Peripheral Vertical Launch System (PVLS) cells allow her to fire Tomahawk cruise missiles, Standard Missiles, Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles, and anti-submarine rockets. Automation allows her to operate with just 147 sailors and have 28 Marines on board, a significant departure from the previous destroyers. Sophisticated radars like the SPY-3 make her capable of detecting threats from the air, surface, and below the sea.
By bringing hypersonic strike capability along, Zumwalt has redefined her purpose. The CPS missile will share the same glide body as the Army’s Long Range Hypersonic Weapon, allowing the Navy to share lines, conserve dollars, and speed deployment. Naval commanders have stated that it enables: Zumwalt is the proving ground for the fleet in hypersonic warfare, and her success will dictate the future of how the Navy wages war.
Zumwalt’s story is one of bold ambition, steep learning curve, and technical innovation. Even though her first design did not come to fruition entirely, her propulsion technology, stealth design, and new hypersonic capabilities are unmatched today. Future DDG(X) destroyers will build upon Zumwalt’s innovations while learning from the Arleigh Burke class.
Where history will put her remains to be determined. Zumwalt may be remembered as a radical agenda that broke the mold, or as a daring experiment that didn’t quite work. For now, she is proof that extreme ideas—even the ones that fail—can reimagine what is possible at sea. From blunders to milestones, Zumwalt has evolved into the Navy’s most advanced hypersonic warship.