Unconsciously, the last Zumwalt-class destroyer of the U.S. Navy is about to enter service. It was also the last new high-tech destroyer of the class. Originally, the battleship was called "the strongest in the world". But now, it is about to become a "forgotten" history. In the eyes of the Americans, even if the LYDG-Johnson (DDG-1002) enters service, it will not change the DDG1000 class to become the end of the era of innovation in the U.S. Navy.
Initially, the DDG-1000 class was planned to build 32 — with a total cost of $9.6 billion to develop and produce — and the plan was subsequently reduced to 24 warships. It was then cut back to seven, and eventually the U.S. Navy decided to produce only three, which also resulted in a price of up to $7.5 billion per ship, including research and development costs, far exceeding the budget for the year. The sheer numbers led the U.S. Navy to restart construction of more proven Arleigh-Burke-class destroyers.
The Zumwalt class is envisaged to be the largest and most technologically advanced destroyer ever built by the U.S. Navy. This type of destroyer is 186 meters long, about 24.6 meters wide, and has a displacement of about 15,761 tons, which is heavier than the Ali-Burke class in service. Despite the increased size of the DDG1000, the Zumwalt-class destroyers are designed with a streamlined, wave-piercing shape that makes them appear smaller on radar displays, while their electronic propulsion system allows them to exceed a top speed of more than 30 knots per hour. In addition, the crew of these warships was designed to have a crew of only 158, about half of the Arleigh-Burke-class destroyers.
The root of the problem is that the Zumwalt class was originally designed to focus on land attacks, while it could assume secondary roles, including surface and air defense. In addition, the Zumwalt class has been developed to perform a range of deterrence, power projection, maritime control, and command and control missions – while it can also operate in high seas and near-system environments. In short, the Zumwalt class was originally designed to do everything, but in the end, it didn't live up to expectations. It's like, I wanted a camel, but I actually gave it to a horse.
The biggest problem with the Zumwalt class is how the battleship accomplishes the main mission of land attack in reality. As a new generation of warships, the Zumwalt class is designed to be equipped with two 155 mm Advanced Artillery Systems (AGS) capable of striking targets with precision-guided artillery shells up to 60 miles away. In wartime, Zumwalt-class destroyers could use this capability to engage targets from close to the coast, opening up a safe passage for amphibious landing operations. In theory, this seems like a reasonable plan — but equipping it with long-range land attack shells, precision-guided artillery shells for AGS, has soared from $50,000 to $800,000 per shell — which has inflated the cost of launch. Until now, the U.S. Navy has not found a replacement, and has even begun to consider dismantling the AGS gun for a new vertically launched hypersonic missile weapon.
In fact, the proposal to convert the Zumwalt class into a platform for hypersonic missiles is feasible, but the weapon is still in the development stage. At the same time, the U.S. Navy is considering other solutions. In late 2020, the U.S. Navy announced that USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000) had successfully performed the first live-launch test of the MK 57 vertical launch system for the Standard Missile (SM-2) in maritime tests. During testing, the DDG-1000 also demonstrated its ability to use sm-2s to detect, track and combat anti-ship cruise missile threats, the U.S. Navy said.
Fortunately, the Zumwalt is designed with many capabilities – including conventional missile strikes – and the Zumwalt also has strong stealth potential. As a result, they will not be abandoned by the U.S. Navy. For now, the best use of these three cutting-edge destroyers will be to play a "maritime superiority" role in the western Pacific. While it may be more capable of this role than the Arleigh-Burke class, the U.S. Navy still appears to be looking for other uses for the expensive battleship. In the words of the Americans themselves, while the U.S. Navy has no shortage of stories of adventurism in history, the Zumwalt class is already a good warning.