US advances sea-based hypersonic strike capability of USS Zumwalt Destroyer with new deal
Key summary
The U.S. Department of War announced a contract modification for Lockheed Martin Space on March 31.
The modification is valued at $1.356 billion and funds engineering, integration, tooling, and long‑lead industrial work to transition Conventional Prompt Strike onto Zumwalt‑class destroyers.
The Conventional Prompt Strike program is moving from development toward operational service.
If within budget, the work would add about $452 million to each of the Navy’s three Zumwalt ships, bringing per‑ship cost to roughly $9.5 billion.
USS Zumwalt began a refit in August 2023 that removed its two 155 mm Advanced Gun System turrets to install 12 Conventional Prompt Strike launch tubes; it completed sea trials in mid‑January as the first refitted ship, had an about three‑month Pacific deployment in November 2022 before the refit, and the Zumwalt class was cut from 32 ships to 3 (91% canceled).
