Posted on Dec 2, 2024
Stealth Destroyer to be Home for 1st Hypersonic Weapon on a US Warship
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The U.S. Navy is transforming a costly flub into a potent weapon with the first shipborne hypersonic weapon, which is being retrofitted aboard the first of its three stealthy destroyers.
The USS Zumwalt is at a Mississippi shipyard where workers have installed missile tubes that replace twin turrets from a gun system that was never activated because it was too expensive. Once the system is complete, the Zumwalt will provide a platform for conducting fast, precision strikes from greater distances, adding to the usefulness of the warship.
The USS Zumwalt is at a Mississippi shipyard where workers have installed missile tubes that replace twin turrets from a gun system that was never activated because it was too expensive. Once the system is complete, the Zumwalt will provide a platform for conducting fast, precision strikes from greater distances, adding to the usefulness of the warship.
Stealth Destroyer to be Home for 1st Hypersonic Weapon on a US Warship
Posted from military.com
Weapons
Defense
Posted 1 y ago
Responses: 4
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I don't see the practicality of a hypersonic missile capability on one ship that is already on cost overruns and travels at a relatively slow speeds... The logic escapes me...
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Well, it's about time the Zumwalt class became good for something or anything.
This class of ship is a colossal waste of money so far. Even the LCS ships are/were better.
This class of ship is a colossal waste of money so far. Even the LCS ships are/were better.
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Hypersonic weapons are about 90% Hype. The push for the US to field one is mostly political rather than an actual military need. Contrary to some hysterical pearl-clutching websites, increasing the speed of a missile from Mach 4.999 to Mach 5.001 does not magically turn it into some sort of unstoppable super weapon.
Yes, faster missiles are harder to shoot down, simply because you have less time in which to react, but stealthy low level missiles achieve the same advantage by being harder to detect. The US developed a hypersonic missile in the late 1950s and abandoned the program in the early 1960s after deciding that there was simply no military need. There is still no military need, but apparently there is a political need. After all, "They" have one, so obviously we need to have one too. And, of course, mounting this "high tech" new weapon on the Zumwalt-class destroyers is supposed to instantly replace the pile of doggy doo that they Navy found themselves in with these white elephants.
I suppose it is convenient that the Zumwalt class has this big chunk of unused (useless!) space that can be used to mount missile tubes for the HYPErsonic missiles, but if these destroyers were worth fixing, I have to wonder why the Navy had not already filled that same unused space with regular VLS cells.
Likewise, if the HYPErsonic missiles really are so good, why isn't the Navy planning to rip out one bank of VLS cells on the Burke-class destroyers to provide them with the same upgrade.
Yes, faster missiles are harder to shoot down, simply because you have less time in which to react, but stealthy low level missiles achieve the same advantage by being harder to detect. The US developed a hypersonic missile in the late 1950s and abandoned the program in the early 1960s after deciding that there was simply no military need. There is still no military need, but apparently there is a political need. After all, "They" have one, so obviously we need to have one too. And, of course, mounting this "high tech" new weapon on the Zumwalt-class destroyers is supposed to instantly replace the pile of doggy doo that they Navy found themselves in with these white elephants.
I suppose it is convenient that the Zumwalt class has this big chunk of unused (useless!) space that can be used to mount missile tubes for the HYPErsonic missiles, but if these destroyers were worth fixing, I have to wonder why the Navy had not already filled that same unused space with regular VLS cells.
Likewise, if the HYPErsonic missiles really are so good, why isn't the Navy planning to rip out one bank of VLS cells on the Burke-class destroyers to provide them with the same upgrade.
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