Surface Forces: Failed Destroyer Design Finds a Purpose
30th September 2021
Or maybe not.
In August 2021 the U.S. Navy finally had USS Lyndon B. Johnson, its third, and last Zumwalt-class destroyer ready for sea trials. These trials will take an unusually long time because the navy does not expect the Johnson to join the fleet until 2023. The main reason for the unusually long trials period is that the navy considers the Zumwalts as valuable testbeds for new technologies, especially ones that made the Zumwalts useful. They lost their gun turrets because the ammunition was too expensive. That was because the ammo purchase was based on 32 Zumwalts being built. With only three ships the cost per shell was prohibitive. Meanwhile the marines found a cheaper and more useful substitute for the 155mmm guided shell, whose main purpose was providing artillery support for marines and other troops on hostile shores.
The alternative weapon for the Zumwalt gun turrets was the new railgun, which was also dropped because of cost and reliability issues. Because of the Zumwalt the navy has already cancelled two expensive new weapons technologies; 155mm guns using GPS guided shells and the electric rail gun, that were planned for future use on many other ships.