The United States will equip three Zumwalt-class stealth frigates with hypersonic missiles in March 2022, as the country strengthens its maritime defenses and seeks to deal with potential threats from the United States. Russia, China.
According to Asia Times, the hypersonic missile will replace the 155mm AGS gun system of the three Zumwalt-class destroyers. Upon completion of the installation, Zumwalt will be the first US Navy ship to be equipped with hypersonic weapons. The conversion is intended to turn the aforementioned stealth ships into surface attack ships that can operate far from the shore, contrary to the original purpose of operating in coastal areas and supporting coastal forces with 155mm guns. .
Zumwalt-class destroyers were originally designed to be able to mount the 155mm AGS cannon. However, due to the high cost of AGS, the US Navy stopped purchasing this weapon. In addition, the development of coastal defense systems such as anti-ship missile batteries, mines and coastal submarines have made the Zumwalt destroyer more vulnerable when conducting near-shore missions.
According to the plan, Zumwalt will be installed two sets of hypersonic missile launchers on the port side and starboard side of the ship. Each tube can be equipped with 3 new generation hypersonic missiles Common Hypersonic Glide Body (C-HGB).
The replacement of the AGS gun mounts with hypersonic missile launchers brings new strategic capabilities to the Zumwalt, while preserving the ship's 80 existing vertical launchers - which are so important. for anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles. However, the US Navy did not disclose exactly how many hypersonic missiles each Zumwalt destroyer will carry.
Modern technology
The US Navy may have planned to refit the Zumwalt from a coastal attack destroyer into a hypersonic weapon carrier to continue using its advanced technologies. These technologies include stealth, radar, electric propulsion and information processing capabilities. However, this can also be a step to overcome the shortcomings of this class of ships.
The Zumwalt's stealth shell is easily unstable in rough seas and can be detected by low-frequency radar. In addition, to optimize stealth, this ship is not equipped with a close-in weapon system (CIWS), making it vulnerable to anti-ship missiles.
Each Zumwalt costs more than 4 billion USD, making it difficult for the US Navy to procure enough ships of this class to perform the necessary tasks. The construction of expensive ships like the Zumwalt reflects the US tendency to be willing to spend money on sophisticated weapons, which promise to take on many roles but cannot be mass-produced due to high costs. Not to mention, such ships can be packed with too many features and thus they are not specialized for any one role.
These observations suggest that the installation of hypersonic weapons on the Zumwalt may be more appropriate and effective than installing them on other, less expensive ships. Although US hypersonic weapons are still in the early stages of development and have high costs, in the future it can be expected that costs will decrease as technology develops and production rates increase. allowing more warships to be armed with this weapon.
Nor does it rule out the possibility of a new class of ships designed to be armed with hypersonic missiles from the outset. Although the Zumwalt-class destroyers are planned to be armed with hypersonic weapons, their high cost, small numbers, and untested technologies may limit their role when it comes to fulfilling requirements. naval demand.
The US Navy is currently pursuing the future DDG(X) battleship project. These future warships are expected to be equipped with hypersonic and directed-energy weapons, as well as key technologies found in the Zumwalt class. Construction of the ships under the DDG(X) project will begin in 2028. Each ship is expected to cost $1 billion, significantly cheaper than the Zumwalt-class destroyers.
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