The Navy's stealth destroyers are getting new missiles that will turn them into long range ship killers
- The Navy's Zumwalt-class destroyers are getting new missiles that will allow them to take on other surface vessels at long ranges.
- The ships were originally intended to fill a land attack role.
- The Navy is still searching for affordable ammunition for the main guns on the ships.
The Navy's most technologically advanced surface ships, the Zumwalt-class stealth destroyers, are getting new weapons that will turn them into long range ship killers, according to budget documents spotted by Defense News.
Ships will be armed with is Raytheon's SM-6 missile, a ballistic missile that serves three purposes; anti-air, anti-surface, and ballistic missile defense.
Unlike its older brother the SM-3, the SM-6 has a proximity charge that explodes near its target, meaning it does not have to make physical contact with whatever it is intercepting.
The Navy tested the SM-6's anti-ship capability in March of 2016. A SM-6 from an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer destroyed the decommissioned Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate USS Reuben James. Back then, its range was listed as 250 nautical miles, but is now expected to be as high as 268 nautical miles. The missile also has a speed of mach 3.5.
The SM-6 has had successful results in its anti-ballistic missile tests, with the missile intercepting a target in Hawaii last August.
The stealth destroyers will also be equipped with Raytheons Maritime Strike Tomahawk, a variant of the classic cruise missile that will be able to destroy moving naval targets.
The missiles are a much needed addition to the destroyers, since the ships' main armament, the two 155 mm Advanced Gun Systems, are unusable because no ammunition has been made for them. The original rounds intended for the guns were deemed too expensive, with a price tag ranging from $800,00 to $1 million for a single round.
The guns will remain on the destroyers, but "in an inactive status for future use, when a gun round that can affordably meet the desired capability is developed and fielded," according to budget documents.
The Navy was looking at changing the Zumwalt-class' role from land attack ship to an anti-surface warfare ship last December. The change was motivated by fears of China's increasingly capable navy, and the need for more surface ships capable to dealing killing blows in ship-to-ship combat.
All three Zumwalt-class destroyers will be based in the Pacific.
The new missiles will allow the destroyers to work alongside Littoral Combat Ships, which will soon be getting their own upgrades that will allow them to take on enemy vessels miles away.
There are currently two Zumwalt-class destroyers; USS Zumwalt, which is currently in its homeport of San Diego getting overhauled and a weapons installation, and USS Michael Monsoor, which just successfully completed its acceptance trials last week.