The future US Navy Zumwalt-class destroyer USS Lyndon B. Johnson recently arrived at Huntington Ingalls Industries' shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi, to begun undergoing integration of its hypersonic missile system.
Captain Clint Lawler, Program Manager at the navy's Zumwalt-class Destroyer program office, said the destroyer is the second in the Zumwalt-class to receive the Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) system and its associated vertical launch system (VLS).
CPS will enable all three Zumwalt-class ships to effectively strike high-value, time-sensitive targets while avoiding hostile air defences.
The navy will also install hypersonic missiles on the Block V Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarines. The service expects integration of the missiles on these platforms to be completed by 2029.
Honouring the 36xth President of the United States, the future Lyndon B. Johnson is the third and final Zumwalt-class destroyer to be built for the US Navy.
The ship was built by General Dynamics Bath Iron Works and is tentatively scheduled for delivery in FY2027. It will be commissioned into service following the installation and the activation of its combat systems.