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U.S. Navy’s First Stealth Hypersonic Strike Destroyer USS Zumwalt Completes Builder’s Sea Trials.
Huntington Ingalls Industries confirmed the successful completion of builder’s sea trials for USS Zumwalt following its conversion into a hypersonic strike platform. The milestone validates the US Navy’s decision to transform the Zumwalt class into its first surface vessel purpose-built for conventional prompt strike missions.
On 21 January 2026, Huntington Ingalls Industries confirmed the completion of builder’s sea trials for USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) following a prolonged modernization period at its Ingalls Shipbuilding yard in Pascagoula. According to the company, the trials mark the successful conclusion of a post-availability testing phase and represent the ship’s first return to sea after extensive structural and systems modifications. Beyond their immediate technical significance, the trials constitute the first at-sea validation of the U.S. Navy’s decision to repurpose the Zumwalt-class from its original naval surface fire support role into a surface platform dedicated to conventional hypersonic strike.
USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) completed builder’s sea trials in January 2026, marking its first return to sea after conversion for conventional hypersonic strike (Picture Source: U.S. Navy)
HII stated that the builder’s sea trials were conducted jointly by Ingalls Shipbuilding and the U.S. Navy and involved a comprehensive series of tests designed to verify ship performance following what the company described as an extensive modernization availability. These trials focused on propulsion, hull integrity, power generation, and overall ship systems performance after major alterations carried out during the yard period. While the HII's announcement does not detail specific combat system testing, the trials are presented as a prerequisite step toward restoring the ship to operational service in its new configuration.
From an industrial and programmatic standpoint, the scope of work performed on Zumwalt reflects the depth of the redesign required to support its new mission. According to HII, the ship entered the Pascagoula yard in August 2023 and was moved onto land shortly thereafter, a non-routine process that enabled large-scale structural modifications. This land-based phase extended well beyond a conventional maintenance availability and was necessary to accommodate major internal changes associated with the ship’s new weapon system. Zumwalt was undocked in December 2024 before entering final preparations for its return to sea.
The most consequential modification confirmed by HII is the integration of the Conventional Prompt Strike weapon system and the removal of the ship’s twin 155 mm Advanced Gun Systems. Their removal formally ends the Zumwalt program’s original concept as a precision naval gunfire platform. While HII does not disclose technical details regarding the configuration, number, or layout of the CPS launchers, open-source reporting and imagery analysis indicate that the guns have been replaced by large-diameter missile launch infrastructure designed specifically for hypersonic weapons. With this conversion, DDG 1000 becomes the first U.S. Navy surface combatant configured to deploy CPS, with the two remaining ships of the class scheduled to receive similar modifications.
CPS itself is a conventional, non-nuclear hypersonic strike system developed jointly by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army. According to publicly available program information, it employs a large rocket booster to accelerate a common hypersonic glide body to speeds exceeding Mach 5 before release toward its target. Unlike traditional cruise missiles, CPS emphasizes speed, maneuverability, and reduced warning time rather than flexible routing, enabling rapid engagement of hardened or time-sensitive targets while stressing advanced air and missile defense systems. These performance characteristics are widely described in open sources assesments, though they are not detailed in HII’s official statement.
At the same time, available reportings suggests, though it has not yet been officially confirmed, inherent constraints associated with deploying hypersonic weapons at sea. The large size of CPS launchers limits magazine depth compared with conventional vertical launch systems, reinforcing the system’s role as a high-impact rather than high-volume strike capability. In addition, prompt strike weapons carry strategic signaling implications, as their speed and range can complicate adversary threat perception during periods of elevated tension. These considerations form part of the broader doctrinal debate surrounding CPS employment but are not addressed in the shipbuilder’s announcement.
Within this context, the Zumwalt-class hull provides a distinctive, though specialized, hosting solution. Its integrated electric propulsion system, confirmed by HII as a core feature of the class, offers substantial power generation capacity and growth margin for future systems. Combined with a reduced radar cross section and other signature-management measures, this architecture supports survivability during forward operations in contested environments. Compared with submarine-based strike platforms such as Ohio-class SSGNs or Virginia-class attack submarines, however, a CPS-equipped Zumwalt occupies a different operational niche, offering a visible but survivable surface presence capable of delivering prompt conventional strike without reliance on fixed land bases.
From a tactical perspective, a CPS-armed Zumwalt could function as a mobile strike node during the early phases of a crisis, using maritime maneuver to complicate adversary defensive planning by introducing uncertainty over launch locations and axes of attack. The limited number of hypersonic weapons likely carried aboard the ship suggests selective employment against targets of high operational or strategic value, reinforcing its role as a precision strike asset rather than a platform for sustained fires.
The completion of the builder’s sea trials supports the Navy’s broader effort to distribute conventional deterrence across multiple platforms and domains. According to official information released by Huntington Ingalls Industries, this approach will extend across the Zumwalt class, with USS Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG 1002) currently undergoing CPS weapon system integration at Ingalls Shipbuilding and USS Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001) scheduled to receive the CPS system during a future availability. Together with DDG 1000, the three ships are expected to form the Navy’s initial surface based hypersonic strike capability.
The completion of builder’s sea trials validates the at sea outcome of a modernization effort that began with Zumwalt’s arrival in Pascagoula in August 2023 and culminated in a fundamental redefinition of its combat role. More than a return to service milestone, the trials demonstrate that the Zumwalt class hull and integrated electric drive architecture can support hypersonic strike integration following the removal of the original gun-based armament.
What remains to be demonstrated lies beyond shipyard testing. The integration of CPS into operational command-and-control networks, the development of targeting and employment concepts under contested conditions, and the Navy’s ability to manage the strategic implications of prompt strike weapons will ultimately determine the platform’s operational value. Nevertheless, USS Zumwalt’s transition into the Navy’s first CPS-equipped surface combatant represents a concrete step toward a more distributed and resilient conventional strike posture, with significant implications for future surface warfare doctrine.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.