The USS Zumwalt, the lead ship of the U.S. Navy’s Zumwalt-class destroyers, has returned to sea trials after three years following a major modernisation.
The upgrade replaces the ship’s expensive naval guns with missile tubes for the Conventional Prompt Strike hypersonic weapon.
The destroyer had been docked since summer 2023 while the Navy removed its two 155mm Advanced Gun Systems, which were considered too costly to operate.
Each shell for these guns cost about $1 million, compared with $3,000–$4,000 for standard NATO artillery rounds.
The redesign also freed up space beneath the former gun mounts and allows room for future upgrades.
Originally designed for stealthy support of near-shore operations, the Zumwalt is now focused on long-range strike missions in open waters.
The three-ship class limits its overall scale, but the addition of hypersonic weapons gives it a new role.
Named after former Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, the class was initially intended
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