The destroyer USS Zumwalt has completed extensive testing before being equipped with hypersonic missiles with a range of 2,700 kilometers

The U.S. Navy is preparing to modernize the DDG-1000 Project USS Zumwalt with a hypersonic weapon for the destroyer.

Here's What We Know

The USS Zumwalt is a U.S. destroyer that was commissioned in 2016, three years after its launch. In 2021, the U.S. Navy said the destroyer would receive hypersonic weapons in 2025. The service recently confirmed that the plan has not changed, but the submarine USS Virginia will get hypersonic missiles in 2029.

The last tests of the USS Zumwalt lasted for three months. During the tests the US Navy specialists checked the technical parameters and evaluated the reliability of the new destroyer before the modernization start.

The tests took place in the Pacific Ocean. Strategic supersonic bomber B-1 Lancer and destroyer CTF-71 of Japanese Armed Forces took part in them. The USS Zumwalt next year will go to the docks for modernization, which will take 1.5 years. During this time the ship will receive not only hypersonic missiles. The destroyer will also get passive target detection and underwater/surface drones.

As we wrote above, the next-generation destroyer will receive hypersonic weapons in 2025. The missile range will be at least 2,700 km. After that, it will have to undergo several tests to make sure the new missiles are properly installed. Preparations for the first combat deployment will take about another year.

Source: USNI News