$8B Disaster Becomes America’s Deadliest Ship

America’s $8 billion stealth destroyer USS Zumwalt has finally departed port armed with hypersonic missiles, transforming a failed weapons program into a strategic powerhouse that signals U.S. naval supremacy against China and Russia.

Story Highlights

USS Zumwalt becomes first U.S. Navy ship armed with operational hypersonic missiles after costly gun system failure
Destroyer carries 12 Conventional Prompt Strike missiles traveling faster than Mach 5, nearly impossible to intercept
Strategic pivot addresses China’s growing Pacific presence with forward-deployed hypersonic capability by 2028
Retrofit salvages troubled $8 billion program by converting experimental platform into cutting-edge strike asset

Technological Redemption for Troubled Program

The USS Zumwalt’s departure marks a remarkable transformation for a destroyer class that nearly became a defense procurement disaster. Originally designed around the Advanced Gun System, the program faced operational collapse when ammunition costs ballooned to hundreds of thousands of dollars per round. The Navy canceled the gun system entirely, leaving three $8 billion destroyers without their primary weapon. This hypersonic retrofit represents a strategic pivot that converts a fiscal liability into America’s most advanced surface combatant.

Naval Sea Systems Command completed the comprehensive retrofit by May 2026, installing 12 Conventional Prompt Strike hypersonic missiles where the failed gun systems once operated. Captain Clint Lawler confirmed the transformation timeline at the Surface Navy Association Symposium, emphasizing the destroyer’s evolution from experimental platform to operational strike asset. The retrofit demonstrates how existing naval architecture can accommodate next-generation weapons systems without requiring entirely new hull designs.

Hypersonic Superiority Against Enemy Threats

These Conventional Prompt Strike missiles travel at speeds exceeding Mach 5, making them nearly impossible for enemy air defense systems to detect and intercept. Unlike traditional cruise missiles that follow predictable flight paths, hypersonic weapons can maneuver during flight while maintaining extreme velocities. This capability enables American commanders to strike targets well beyond enemy air defense ranges, fundamentally changing naval warfare dynamics in contested environments like the South China Sea.

Retired Rear Admiral Joe Sestak, a former carrier strike group commander, acknowledged that current defense systems cannot effectively counter hypersonic missiles. However, he raised concerns about whether 12 missiles per destroyer provide sufficient firepower for major operations. This assessment highlights both the revolutionary capability and potential limitations of the current hypersonic arsenal against large-scale threats from peer adversaries like China.

Strategic Pacific Positioning Against China

All three Zumwalt-class destroyers will homeport at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam by mid-2028, establishing America’s first hypersonic-armed surface fleet in the Indo-Pacific. This forward deployment directly counters China’s growing naval presence and territorial claims in the region. The strategic positioning enables rapid response capabilities against Chinese aggression while demonstrating American technological superiority to regional allies concerned about Beijing’s expansionist policies.

U.S. Navy Launches Futuristic $8 Billion Stealth Ship Out of Port with Hypersonic Weapons Canistershttps://t.co/0Mda0kM3tI

— 19FortyFive (@19_forty_five) January 18, 2026

The broader initiative includes parallel integration of hypersonic capabilities aboard Virginia-class submarines, creating a comprehensive strike network throughout the Pacific. Two Virginia-class vessels, USS Arizona and USS Barb, will carry the Virginia Payload Module enabling deployment of 12 hypersonic missiles or 28 Tomahawk cruise missiles per submarine. This multi-platform approach ensures sustained hypersonic capability even if individual vessels face operational challenges or enemy interdiction attempts.