The US Navy has transferred the equipping of Zumwalt-type stealth destroyers with medium-range hypersonic missiles. American sailors will receive the first ship with new weapons no earlier than fiscal year 2025. This is reported by The Drive.
The publication notes that the original plan assumed the beginning of work on the rearmament of ships in 2022. Three ships with hypersonic missiles were planned to be transferred to the fleet in fiscal year 2025.
The Drive, referring to the budget request of the US Navy, reports on the postponement of work. Thus, the rearmament of the ships will begin in 2024, and at the end of 2025, the American fleet may receive the first Zumwalt with hypersonic missiles.
Each ship will receive 12 launchers for launching Intermediate-Range Conventional Prompt Strike (IRCPS) hypersonic missiles. These missiles are considered an analogue of the hypersonic complex Long Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) Dark Eagle ("Dark Eagle").
The missiles will replace 155-millimeter artillery launchers. After refitting, the Zumwalt destroyers will be combined into an experimental US Navy compound called Surface Development Squadron One.
In October, the US Department of Defense published pictures of the transfer of the first hypersonic complexes to American gunners. Units of the 17th Field Artillery Brigade of the US Army received an experimental battery of the Dark Eagle hypersonic complex.
In August, Popular Mechanics magazine revealed the range of the LRHW rocket. The publication noted that the range of the LRHW missile is 2,775 kilometers, and the munition is capable of hitting Moscow from London.
Daniil Irinin
