The shipyard set to install hypersonic missiles on guided-missile destroyer USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000) was awarded a $154.8 million contract for the work, according to a Tuesday Pentagon announcement.
The contract, scheduled to be completed by September 2025, will replace the original twin 155mm Advanced Gun Systems on the destroyer with four 87-inch missile tubes. Zumwalt arrived at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss., on Aug. 19.
Each tube will hold three Common Hypersonic Glide Bodies (C-HGB) – hypersonic missiles being developed jointly between the U.S. Army and the Navy. The missiles are part of the Pentagon’s conventional strategic weapon systems that can strike any target on the planet with minimal warning.
Tuesday’s contract follows a $10.5 million planning contract issued in January for the work for Zumwalt-class USS Michael Monsoor (DDG-1001).
“Michael Monsoor will receive the CPS install at Ingalls during a future modernization period. Additionally, Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG-1002) arrived at Ingalls in Jan. 2022 and is undergoing a combat systems activation,” reads a statement from HII.
The Navy wants the weapons on Zumwalt ready to test by December 2025, USNI News previously reported. The service also plans field the weapon in the Virginia Payload Module in the Block V Virginia-class attack submarines by 2029.
Earlier this year, the Government Accountability Office said the deployment of the C-HGB timeline could be later than planned on Zumwalt due to delays in the development of the weapon.
“If the hypersonic weapon is not ready for integration on the DDG 1000 at the time of the aforementioned maintenance period, the Navy may have to extend the duration of the planned maintenance period or wait for the next scheduled period to incorporate the system on the ship,” reads the June report.
