Word.
The Zumwalt-class destroyer will never be the battleship of the twenty-first century. It’s the U.S. Navy’s version of the Russian Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier.
Yet another multi-billion dollar failure.
Yet, the instant that the Zumwalt-class appears to conduct strikes against enemy ground targets, they can be visually spotted by an enemy scout wielding binoculars. The reduced radar cross-section provides little protection for the warship when operating within the visual range of the enemy.
What’s more, the moment the Zumwalt fired its payload its stealth would be gone, as the enemy would quickly discern that the Zumwalt was a destroyer rather than some fishing boat off their coast.
So, even the vaunted stealth capabilities of these boats are not that great.
And what about the “impressive” weapons systems of these boats? Well, they’re not impressive. Originally, Zumwalt’s Advanced Gun System (AGS) was trumpeted as the great weapon system of its time. It was deemed a total failure. That’s because the specialized 155 mm rounds designed for these systems, the Long Range Land Attack Projectile (LRLAP), became too expensive to mass produce.
So, the Pentagon reduced the ammunition order, meaning that there was an artificial limit to how many rounds each ship would have in combat. That made the guns unusable.
This led to the calls by the Navy to embrace the Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) hypersonic weapons platform. Launched from Multiple All-Up Round Canisters (MACs), each MAC holds three CPS missiles. According to their specifications, the CPS is a boost-glide missile with a kinetic-energy warhead that can travel upwards of Mach 5 (3,800 miles per hour).
Here’s the problem: the CPS is in no way ready for showtime. Given the limitations of the Navy’s budget under current conditions, it is unlikely that the Navy will be able to develop these proposed weapons promptly.
So, here again, the Zumwalt-class destroyers are failing to deliver.
Zumwalt-Class: Don’t You Dare Call This Destroyer a Battleship
Email me at cgpodcast@pm.me
