WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Navy announced that the USS Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG-1002) dry-docked at Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Pascagoula Shipyard in Mississippi last Sunday to begin the integration process for Conventional Prompt Strike, making the Zumwalt-class destroyer the second vessel to receive the conventional hypersonic missiles.
“Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG 1002) will be the second ship of the class to receive the large missile vertical launch system and CPS. We’ve extended the combat system activation period by two years to accomplish this installation. The CPS work was placed on contract in August and we dry-docked the ship on Sunday in preparation for land-level production,” Capt. Clint Lawler, Program Manager, Zumwalt-class Destroyer program office, unveiled during a Navy Sea Systems Command presentation at Surface Navy Association 2025.
While USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000) and USS Michael Monsoor (DDG-1001) will receive the hypersonic conversion through an additional back fit, lessons from the first project influenced NAVSEA to extend the fitting out period of Lyndon B. Johnson to accommodate CPS. According to Lawler, this will allow the fleet to keep Michael Monsoor in service for learning opportunities while the other two ships in the stealth destroyer class are fitted for the hypersonics.
“The Zumwalt class, with its advanced stealth design and integration of the Conventional Prompt Strike weapons system, will be the Navy’s premier offensive surface combatant, providing sea-based precision capabilities that can effectively engage strategic targets with long-range fires.”
Also described by Lawler as a “key capability” of Chief of Naval Operations Project 33, a plan to have the U.S. Navy ready for a major conflict in 2027, CPS is envisioned to provide American forces with the ability to “penetrate air defenses to strike high-value, time-sensitive targets.” The Navy will field the missiles on the three Zumwalt-class destroyers and Block V Virginia-class nuclear attack submarines in 2029. U.S. Army Multi-Domain Task Forces will also deploy the system, dubbed Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon and Dark Eagle, in a ground-based role. An Army test last month was sucessfully conducted from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida.
The CPS installation work on Zumwalt lasted between January and October 2024. This project saw the stealthy warship lose one of two Advanced Gun Systems in exchange for four large tubes capable of launching three hypersonic missiles each for a total of 12. Zumwalt hit the water with its upgrades for the first time last month, and the Navy is looking at the destroyer to test CPS in 2027 or 2028. Lyndon B. Johnson is set to be commissioned in 2027, while hypersonic installation work on the Michael Monsoor is slated to begin in 2026.
