The U.S. Navy is transforming a costly mistake into a potent weapon by retrofitting a hypersonic weapon onto the USS Zumwalt, one of its stealthy destroyers. The ship was originally intended to feature a land-attack capability with an Advanced Gun System, but the system was canceled due to its high cost. Instead, the Navy will install four missile tubes, each carrying three hypersonic glide vehicles, capable of traveling at speeds seven to eight times faster than the speed of sound.
The Conventional Prompt Strike system is being developed jointly by the Navy and Army, and is expected to provide a platform for conducting fast and precision strikes from greater distances. The weapon system will allow the Zumwalt-class destroyers to strike enemy targets from thousands of kilometers away, outside the range of most enemy weapons, and there is no effective defense against them.
The development of hypersonic weapons has been accelerated by the U.S. military in response to recent tests by Russia and China. The U.S. has been working on hypersonic weapon systems for over two decades, but the pressure has increased due to the progress made by its rivals. The Pentagon has confirmed that China has recently tested an intermediate-range hypersonic weapon called the DF-27.
The USS Zumwalt, which cost $7.5 billion to build, is being fitted with the new weapon system at a Mississippi shipyard. The ship will be undocked this week in preparation for the next round of tests and its return to the fleet. The Navy wants to begin testing the system aboard the Zumwalt in 2027 or 2028.
However, the weapon system is expected to come at a steep price. A Congressional Budget Office report estimated that it would cost nearly $18 billion to buy 300 of the weapons and maintain them over 20 years. Critics argue that there is too little bang for the buck, but proponents say that the weapon provides a unique capability for the Navy to strike enemy targets from a distance.
The U.S. military believes that hypersonic weapons are vital to its national security, with “survivable and lethal capabilities.” Fielding new capabilities based on hypersonic technologies is a priority for the defense department to sustain and strengthen its integrated deterrence and build enduring advantages.
