US Navy’s “Death Star” Destroyer Prepares For Hypersonic Weapon Installation

In a move that shouldn’t surprise readers, the US Navy is wasting even more taxpayers’ funds to replace new deck guns of the Zumwalt-class stealth destroyer with missile tubes to house hypersonic weapons.

“USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000) arrived in Pascagoula, Mississippi., today [Saturday] to enter a modernization period and receive technology upgrades including the integration of the Conventional Prompt Strike weapon system,” USNI News has learned, citing a statement from the service. It added, “The upgrades will ensure Zumwalt remains one of the most technologically advanced and lethal ships in the US Navy.” 

Naval warfare journalist and commentator Chris Cavas photographed the guided-missile destroyer as it arrived at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula. 

USS ZUMWALT DDG1000 arrived at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula MS 19 for a major 2-year modernization that will see large launch tubes for hypersonic Conventional Prompt Strike missiles replace the two 155mm Advanced Gun Systems. The Z boat joins sister LYNDON B JOHNSON … pic.twitter.com/oynInjAQ3U

— Chris Cavas (@CavasShips) August 21, 2023

We have told readers in two notes, “US Navy’s “Death Star” Destroyer Will Be Armed With Laser Guns And Hypersonic Missiles” and “US Navy’s Zumwalt Stealth Destroyers To Get Hypersonic Missiles” about the push to swap out existing twin 155 mm Advanced Gun Systems and replace them with four 87-inch missile tubes. 

Each tube will hold three Common Hypersonic Glide Bodies (C-HGB) hypersonic missiles. However, the Congressional Budget Office states, “The United States has not yet fielded such weapons [hypersonic missiles], for both scientific and policy reasons.”

Besides the Navy building missile tubes for missiles it doesn’t have, the most expensive destroyer ever built for the service has had a series of mechanical failures over the years. Also, it was delivered to the service seven years late and exceeded shipbuilding costs by over 50%. 

This is the latest saga of taxpayers’ dollars thrown into the abyss, and there’s still no clarity on when the US fields hypersonic weapons.