In a strategic move amidst escalating global tensions surrounding hypersonic weapons technology, the US Navy is retrofitting the USS Zumwalt, a stealth destroyer previously deemed a costly misstep, with a cutting-edge hypersonic missile system. The ship, currently stationed at a Mississippi shipyard, is undergoing significant modifications, with missile tubes being installed in place of two previously inactive gun turrets.
The USS Zumwalt at the Huntington Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
This upgrade aims to repurpose the Zumwalt, transforming it into a potent hypersonic platform. Defense analyst Bryan Clark of the Hudson Institute highlighted the potential for the Navy to salvage value from the ship's initial design flaws, stating, "It was a costly blunder. But the Navy could take victory from the jaws of defeat here, and get some utility out of them by making them into a hypersonic platform."
This development unfolds against a backdrop of intense competition between the United States, Russia, and China in the realm of hypersonic weapons development. These missiles present a significant challenge to modern defense systems due to their incredible speed, making them extremely difficult to intercept.
The USS Zumwalt undergoing retrofitting with a hypersonic missile battery. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Recent events have underscored the growing importance of hypersonic weapons in geopolitical strategy. Following President Biden's authorization for Ukraine to utilize US-supplied ATACMs missiles against targets within Russian territory, Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened retaliatory strikes on Ukrainian government buildings in Kyiv using hypersonic missiles. These missiles are also believed to possess the range to reach the US West Coast.
Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Vyacheslav Prokofyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Putin asserted that Russia's production of advanced missile systems surpasses that of NATO by a factor of ten and indicated plans to further increase production. This arms race underscores the strategic significance of hypersonic missile technology in the current global landscape.
