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Home» News»Zumwalt Destroyers’ 155mm AGSs’ Removal Fates Undetermined
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USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) and USS Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001) sail together
USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) and USS Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001) sail together. (US Navy photo)

Zumwalt Destroyers’ 155mm AGSs’ Removal Fates Undetermined

The U.S. Navy has confirmed that the three stealthy DDG 1000 Zumwalt destroyers’ inactive and never-fired 155mm Advanced Gun Systems (AGS) will be removed for the installation of the Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) hypersonic missile vertical launch tubes in their places. But what is unknown is what will become of the AGSs, two per tumblehome destroyer, once they are removed. Naval News asked the U.S. Navy and received a reply.

Peter Ong 25 Apr 2022

The U.S. Navy’s Chief of Information (CHINFO) department replied to Naval News in mid-April 2022.  Naval News asked CHINFO if the three Zumwalt class destroyers’ 155mm Advanced Gun Systems (AGS) will be:

  • Dismantled, saved and stored in a Navy warehouse for possible future use in another new class of ship.
  • Dismantled, saved and stored at the manufacturer’s location for possible future AGS modifications and upgrades.
  • Dismantled and stored by the U.S. Navy for future scrapping and destruction.
  • Dismantled and destroyed in the removal process for Hypersonic missiles.

Lt. Lewis Aldridge, CHINFO News Desk Officer, replied via email;

“The Navy plans to remove the two Advanced Gun System (AGS) mounts. Disposition plan to be determined.”


— U.S. Navy CHINFO, April 2022

Naval News Comments

Naval News has previously covered the quest and the decision on what to do with the inactive 155mm AGSs, two guns per DDG 1000 destroyer.

As stated in a previous Zumwalt story;

“The AGSs were originally intended to provide Long-Range Precision Fires (LRPF) shore bombardment of approximately 37 to 62 miles (60 to100 kilometers) in support of amphibious assaulting U.S. Marines; however, the AGSs never lived up to their intended roles because the extended-range GPS-guided shells cost anywhere from $800,000 to $1 million each, an exorbitant cost that the U.S. Navy found too hard to justify.”


Naval News, October 28, 2021
DDG 1000 Zumwalt Destroyers’ 155mm AGSs’ Removal Fates Undetermined
The size of the USS Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001) destroyer’s 155mm Advanced Gun System (AGS) is evident by a sailor standing before this angled turret. The metal gun barrel is stowed and hidden inside for stealth purposes.  The three Zumwalt destroyers have never fired a shot due to the lack of custom-made 155mm AGS shells Photo: DVIDS

Instead of pursuing cheaper custom-made 155mm AGS shells (U.S. Army and NATO standard 155mm howitzer shells cannot fire from the Zumwalt AGSs), the U.S. Navy has finally settled on removing these stealthy angular turrets and ammunition hull magazines to install the Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) hypersonic missiles vertical launch system (VLS) tubes in their places because the CPS hypersonic missile is larger than the dimensions of the Navy’s Mark 41 and Mark 57 VLS tubes.  The Mark 57 VLS is so far only found aboard the Zumwalt destroyers.

The U.S. Army’s Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) is the same missile as the Navy’s CPS, just named differently.  The size of the U.S. Navy’s CPS, when installed inside the DDG 1000 destroyer, can now be made from this February 22, 2022 photo of the U.S. Army’s LRHW prototype at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state.  In the photo, two U.S. Army LRHWs are mounted and raised to the vertical launch position on an M870 trailer being towed by an 8×8 wheeled HEMTT tractor.

DDG 1000 Zumwalt Destroyers’ 155mm AGSs’ Removal Fates Undetermined
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash., – Using the Nation’s first prototype Long Range Hypersonic System, Bravo Battery Soldiers with the 5th Battalion, 3rd Artillery, 17th Field Artillery Brigade executed ground movement, round transfers, and established firing capability at Joint Base Lewis McChord Feb. 22-24. (US Army photo by Staff Sgt. Casey Hustin, 17th Field Artillery Brigade).  [Author’s Note: The two soldiers at the base of the LRHW by the rear trailer tires provide a sense of size and scale of the similar U.S. Navy’s CPS hypersonic missiles that will not fit inside the U.S. Navy’s Mark 41 and Mark 57 VLS].

The U.S. Army and Navy’s hypersonic missiles are the same diameters (0.87 meters) and both carry a Hypersonic Glide Body (HGB) that flies down and destroys targets with hypersonic kinetic energy.  The U.S.’s LRHW and CPS are a direct response to peer nations’ hypersonic missiles, some mounted on land-based wheeled Transporter Erector Launchers (TELs), inside warships’ VLS tubes, or carried underneath bombers, that vary in diameter, weight, and dimensions such as the Chinese hypersonic YJ-21 Anti-ship ballistic missile as reported here.

Naval News has covered the U.S. Navy’s HGB and CPS testing and development here.

The U.S. Navy CHINFO and NAVSEA declined to comment to Naval News as to how many CPS VLS tubes can fit inside the removed 155mm AGSs’ ammunition hull spaces, but CHINFO did state that any remaining empty spaces will not be filled with Mark 41, Mark 57, or ESSM VLS tubes around the CPS launch tubes.

Due to funding and logistic issues, it remains unknown if the U.S. Marine Corps will field the Navy’s CPS hypersonic missiles on USMC tractors and trailers similar to the U.S. Army’s LRHW tractor and trailer setup for Long-Range Precision Fires (LRPF) for ground launch.  The CPS missile will reportedly have a range of more than 1,725 miles (2,775 kilometers).

US Navy Zumwalt-class 2022-04-25
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Authors

Posted by : Peter Ong
Peter Ong is a Freelance Writer with United States and International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) media credentials and lives in California. Peter has a Bachelor's Degree in Technical Writing/Graphic Design and a Master's Degree in Business. He writes articles for defense, maritime and emergency vehicle publications.

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