By Pedro Bianco
En esta noticia
The United States is transforming one of the most futuristic warships in its fleet: the USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000), a stealth destroyer nearly as long as two football fields that, despite its size, shows up on radar like a small fishing boat. And now it is gaining a new capability: it will be refitted to fire hypersonic missiles.
The government upgrades its most advanced stealth destroyer (DDG 1000)
The USS Zumwalt is the first ship of the destroyer class that bears its name, the most advanced and futuristic line in the U.S. Navy. It is not a new ship: It was commissioned in 2016. What is happening now is a deep modernization that changes part of its weapons systems. Its angular lines and low profile set it apart at a glance from any other warship.
Its size is impressive on its own. The Zumwalt is about 183 meters long, practically two football fields lined up end to end, and displaces around 14,500 tons. It is, in fact, one of the largest destroyers in the U.S. Navy, bulkier than traditional destroyers.
Why is it nearly invisible to radar?
Despite its enormous size, the Zumwalt was designed to be very hard to detect: its angular hull shape, known as a “tumblehome” design because it slopes inward, and its materials minimize the signal it sends back to radar. The result is that, on a radar screen, a 183-meter ship appears with a signature as small as that of a fishing boat. That ability to “hide in plain sight” is at the core of its stealth profile.
The key change: from giant guns to hypersonic missiles
The Zumwalt was originally designed with two enormous advanced guns for shore bombardment. But those guns became effectively unusable: the specialized ammunition they required was canceled because it was far too expensive, and the guns were left without viable shells. The solution was as radical as the ship itself: instead of those weapons, it was fitted with launchers for hypersonic missiles.
The new weapon is the Conventional Prompt Strike, a hypersonic missile capable of flying at more than five times the speed of sound (Mach 5), with long range and high maneuverability, making it extremely difficult to intercept.
Instead of the forward gun, the ship received four large launch tubes, with three missiles in each, for a total of up to 12 hypersonic missiles. With that, the Zumwalt is set to become the first U.S. warship to carry this type of weapon.
Where the modernization stands
The transformation is underway, but slower than expected. The main part of the work, the replacement of the forward gun with missile launchers, was completed in late 2024, when the ship was floated again.
However, the weapon integration has been delayed: according to an audit by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released in 2026, the program is running about two years behind schedule, with costs topping $2 billion, and the hypersonic missile test firing was pushed to 2027.
Adding to that, a fire at the shipyard in 2026 during the work left some sailors injured. All of it is part of the long and complex process of adapting a ship to an entirely new weapon.