Hungtington Ingalls Industries' Ingalls Shipbuilding division has successfully completed builder’s sea trials for the US Navy stealth destroyer USS Zumwalt after she received upgrades to her existing weapon systems.
The joint Ingalls Shipbuilding and US Navy team conducted a comprehensive series of at-sea tests following an extensive modernisation period. The latter resulted in the ship becoming the first US Navy platform to be equipped with the "conventional prompt strike" (CPS) capability.
Zumwalt, the lead ship of the Zumwalt-class destroyers, arrived at Ingalls Shipbuilding's Pascagoula shipyard in Mississippi in August 2023 for the refit.
Shortly after arrival, the ship was moved onto land where the Ingalls Shipbuilding team incorporated technology upgrades. These included integrating the CPS weapon system and replacing the ship's original twin 155mm main guns with new missile tubes.
In December 2024, Zumwalt was launched and underwent additional preparations to ensure her operational readiness with the new system.
Sister ship USS Lyndon B. Johnson is also undergoing CPS weapon system integration while USS Michael Monsoor is scheduled to receive the CPS system during a future refit.
CPS is a conventional, boost-glide hypersonic weapon system. Each CPS missile includes a two-stage solid rocket motor booster and a common hypersonic glide body containing a kinetic energy projectile warhead.
