HII Awarded $155M to Outfit Zumwalt Destroyer With Hypersonic Weapon
Huntington Ingalls Inc. has been awarded a $154.8-million contract to modernize the US Navy’s USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) destroyer, including outfitting the warship with the Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) hypersonic weapon system.
The Zumwalt has already arrived at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi, for the modernization, which is expected to last till September 2025.
The CPS will also be installed on the other Zumwalt-class guided missile destroyer, Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001), while the third Zumwalt vessel, USS Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG 1002), has been undergoing combat systems activation at Ingalls since January 2022.
Zumwalt-Class
Commissioned in 2016, the Zumwalt class features an electric propulsion system, and its tumblehome hull design ensures a low radar cross-section.
The 100-foot (30-meter), 16,000-ton warship is armed with a range of weapons, including tomahawk cruise missiles, the standard SM-3 missile, and the evolved Sea Sparrow missile for air defense.
Zumwalt was initially designed for littoral combat with a twin 155mm Long-Range Land-Attack Projectile artillery system.
However, outfitting it with the hypersonic weapon system will upgrade its capability for the open ocean.
