Navy Will Install Hypersonic Missiles Aboard Zumwalt Destroyers Without Removing Gun Mounts

Zumwalt-class guided-missile destroyer USS Michael Monsoor (DDG-1001) gets underway in Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Feb. 21, 2022. US Navy Photo

WASHINGTON, D.C. — There’s enough space and weight margin aboard the Zumwalt-class destroyers to install two tubes for hypersonic missiles without removing the ship’s 155mm gun mounts, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday told USNI News last month.

By 2025, the first 16,000-ton Zumwalt-class destroyer will have at least two sets of missile tubes...

Last Zumwalt-class Destroyer Lyndon B. Johnson Leaves Bath Iron Works Bound for Mississippi

Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG-1002) passed near Fort Popham after traveling down the Kennebec River to the Atlantic Ocean from Bath Iron Works on Jan. 12, 2022. GD Bath Iron Works Photo

The third and final Zumwalt-class destroyer pulled away from the pier at General Dynamic Bath Iron Work, Maine, on Wednesday.

Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG-1002) departed the shipyard and is in the Atlantic after traveling down the Kennebec River after completing the first of a two-part delivery scheme for the Zumwalt-class.

“Las...

https://news.usni.org/2022/01/13/last-zumwalt-class-destroyer-lyndon-b-johnson-leaves-bath-iron-works-bound-for-mississippi

Navy Wants Last Zumwalt Destroyer in Mississippi to Finalize Combat System; Delivery Anticipated in 2024

Future Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG-1002) underway on Sept. 2, 2021. BIW Photo

Guided-missile destroyer Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG-1002) will head to a Mississippi shipyard to finalize the ship’s combat system activation, USNI News has learned.

The 16,000-ton ship completed builder’s trails earlier this month in the Atlantic and returned to General Dynamics Bath Iron Works in Maine to finalize Johnson’s basic hull, mechanical and electrical systems before heading to the Huntington Ingalls Industries...

CNO: Hypersonic Weapons at Sea to Premiere on Zumwalt Destroyers in 2025

Zumwalt-class guided-missile destroyer USS Michael Monsoor (DDG-1001) leads a formation including the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62), USS Spruance (DDG-111), USS Pinckney (DDG-91) and USS Kidd (DDG-100), and the Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Coronado (LCS-4) during U.S. Pacific Fleet’s Unmanned Systems Integrated Battle Problem (UxS IBP) on April 21, 2021. US Navy Photo

The Navy is set to debut its first at-sea hypersonic missiles aboard one...

https://news.usni.org/2021/04/28/cno-hypersonic-weapons-at-sea-to-premiere-on-zumwalt-destroyers-in-2025

Unmanned Systems, Passive Sensors Help USS John Finn Bullseye Target With SM-6

A Raytheon SM-6 launched from an Aegis guided-missile destroyer. US Navy Photo

Using a blend of information from unmanned and manned ships and aircraft, a guided-missile destroyer launched an anti-surface missile from over-the-horizon to hit a target more than 250 miles away without using active sensors as part of the Unmanned Integrated Battle Problem 21, Navy officials said on Monday.

The target was equipped with a small radar reflector and a repeater that put out an electromagnetic signal. The...

https://news.usni.org/2021/04/26/unmanned-systems-passive-sensors-help-uss-john-finn-bullseye-target-with-sm-6

Fleet Exercise Includes Live Missile Shoot as Navy Pairs Crews With Unmanned Systems 

USS Michael Monsoor (DDG-1001) cruises under the Coronado Bridge in San Diego Bay, Dec. 7, 2018. US Navy Photo

SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Off the southern California coast this week, the Navy has amassed a small fleet to help figure how its operational forces can use aerial drones, autonomous surface and subsurface vehicles in an integrated fight at sea and in the air to support the manned fleet.

That’s the overarching goal of “Unmanned Integrated Battle Problem 21,” a U.S. Pacific Fleet-led exercise to...

https://news.usni.org/2021/04/20/fleet-exercise-includes-live-missile-shoot-as-navy-pairs-crews-with-unmanned-systems

Navy Kicks Off First Fleet Exercise Focused On Role of Unmanned Systems

U.S. Navy leaders observe a demonstration in the combat information center aboard Zumwalt-class guided-missile destroyer USS Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001) on Naval Base San Diego, April 16 during the Unmanned Integrated Battle Problem 21 (UxS IBP 21) Distinguished Visitor Day. U.S. Pacific Fleet’s UxS IBP 21, April 19-26, integrates manned and unmanned capabilities into the most challenging operational scenarios to generate warfighting advantages. US Navy photo.

The Navy today kicked off its...

https://news.usni.org/2021/04/19/navy-kicks-off-first-fleet-exercise-focused-on-role-of-unmanned-systems

Zumwalt Destroyer Will Control Unmanned Ships, Aircraft in Upcoming Fleet Battle Problem

USS Michael Monsoor (DDG-1001) cruises under the Coronado Bridge in San Diego Bay, Dec. 7, 2018. US Navy Photo

The Navy will get a first glimpse of what future operations could look like, when a Zumwalt-class destroyer manages long-range surveillance and fires by manned and unmanned platforms in an upcoming exercise in the Pacific.

U.S. Pacific Fleet will host its most complex exercise to date involving unmanned systems, with next month’s Fleet Battle Problem exercise including unmanned aircraft...

https://news.usni.org/2021/03/22/zumwalt-destroyer-will-control-unmanned-ships-aircraft-in-upcoming-fleet-battle-problem

Navy: Constellation Frigate, DDG(X) Programs Mark Start of ‘Surface Ship Renaissance’

Rendering of USS Constellation (FFG-62). Fincantieri Image

The Navy already has models of the Constellation-class frigate and the upcoming DDG(X) destroyer in the water at Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock in Maryland and is using a new set of engineering best practices to guide the development of both programs, several Navy officials explained last week.

The Fiscal Year 2020 defense bill ordered the Navy to create a senior technical authority for every ship class, who would be responsible...

Navy Integrating Unmanned Surface Vessels, Zumwalt DDGs Into Fleet Battle Problem Exercise

Sailors man the rails aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000) in 2019 as the ship pulls into Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. US Navy Photo

The Navy is taking steps to integrate its Zumwalt-class destroyers and its unmanned surface vessels into operational plans and will likely include both in a major Integrated Battle Problem exercise this spring.

Both sets of ships currently fall under the control of the Surface Development Squadron-1, which is responsible for overseeing USV...

https://news.usni.org/2021/01/12/navy-integrating-unmanned-surface-vessels-zumwalt-ddgs-into-fleet-battle-problem-exercise