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The first Navy ship set to receive hypersonic weapons is one step closer to testing them after it was undocked at the HII Ingalls Shipbuilding division [HII] Pascagoula, Miss., facility on Dec. 6 during its modernization period.
The USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000) first arrived at Pascagoula in August 2023 for an 18-month maintenance and modernization drydock availability to install Conventional Prompt Strike-capable missile tubes (Defense Daily, Aug. 30, 2023).
Early in the modernization period, HII put DDG-1000 on land to integrate technology upgrades, particularly the CPS weapon system. This entailed replacing the unused twin 155mm Advanced Gun Systems with four 87-inch large missile vertical launch system tubes so the ship can field up to 12 total CPS missiles.
Shortly after its arrival, the ship was put back on land to receive technology upgrades including the integration of the Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) weapon system. The Ingalls team also replaced the original twin 155mm Advanced Gun Systems on the destroyers with new missile tubes.
The Army is set to initially field the All-Up Round of a Common Hypersonic Glide Body (C-HGB), followed by the Navy fielding it in the CPS form on the three-ship Zumwalt-class. Next, the Navy plans to also field CPS on Block V Virginia-class attack submarines built with the Virginia Payload Module.
HII announced on Dec. 6 it had undocked DDG-1000, which “marked the completion of significant modernization work at Ingalls since the ship arrived at the Pascagoula shipyard in August 2023.”
“In partnership with the Navy we are steadfast in our commitment to complete this complex work that adds significant hypersonic capability to Zumwalt. We are proud to support the incorporation of the conventional prompt strike for the Navy,” HII President and CEO Chris Kastner said in a statement.
Last month, Vice Adm. Johnny Wolfe, Director of Strategic Systems Programs (SSP), confirmed the Navy pushed back testing on the first hypersonic missiles off DDG-1000 from late 2025 to 2027. He said this was primarily due to overall C-HGB weapon testing running behind schedule, rather than HII work timelines (Defense Daily, Nov. 14).
