--- title: "First Look At Stealth Destroyer’s Hypersonic Missile Launchers" description: "USS Zumwalt will pack a dozen long-range hypersonic missiles, but one of its Advanced Gun Systems still remains after the refit." date: "2025-01-16" modified: "2025-01-16" authors: - name: "Joseph Trevithick" job_title: "Deputy Editor" link: "https://www.twz.com/authors/joseph-trevithick" url: "https://www.twz.com/sea/first-look-at-stealth-destroyers-hypersonic-missile-launchers" categories: - "Destroyers" - "Naval Munitions" - "Navies" - "Sea" - "Sea-Launched Hypersonic Missiles" - "U.S. Navy" - "Zumwalt Class" --- # First Look At Stealth Destroyer’s Hypersonic Missile Launchers ![Newly released pictures offer the first real look at the four new large launch tubes for firing Intermediate-Range Conventional Prompt Strike (IRCPS) hypersonic missiles now installed on the U.S. Navy's stealth destroyer USS Zumwalt.]() *USN* Newly released pictures offer the first real look at the four new large launch tubes for firing [Intermediate-Range Conventional Prompt Strike (IRCPS)]() hypersonic missiles now installed on the U.S. Navy's stealth destroyer USS *Zumwalt*. The other two ships in the *Zumwalt* class are also set to get the same array of tubes on their bows, which could also potentially be used to launch payloads beyond IRCPS. The ships are losing at least one of their 155mm Advanced Gun Systems (AGS), the advanced ammunition that the Navy previously determined [would be too expensive to buy](), as part of the process. Navy Capt. Clint Lawler shared pictures showing the installation of USS *Zumwalt*'s new launch tubes in a briefing yesterday at the [Surface Navy Association’s main annual symposium](). Lawler is the program manager for the three-ship *Zumwalt* class, also known as the DDG-1000 class, within the Navy's [Program Executive Office for Ships]() (PEO Ships). USS *Zumwalt* has been at the HII shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi, since August 2023 for the IRCPS integration and [just returned to the water]() after months in dry dock in December. ![]() *The slide from Capt. Clint Lawler's presentation at the 2025 Surface Navy Association symposium, which also details the timeline for installing the new launch tubes onto the USS *Zumwalt*. *USN** In addition to providing the first real look at the launch tubes installed, Lawler's pictures give a sense of the scale of the work that was involved. As noted, the *Zumwalt*'s forward 155mm AGS turret, as well as associated components that extend deep below decks, had to be removed first, a process that was completed in March 2024. ![]() *A picture the Navy previously released showing one of USS *Zumwalt*'s two AGS turrets being removed as part of the IRCPS integration process. *USN** The foundation for the new launch tubes went into the newly freed-up space in May 2024. The installation of additional bulkheads and other work followed quickly thereafter. The four launch tubes themselves were delivered to the yard between July and August of last year. The basic installation of the tubes was finished by October. ![]() *USS *Zumwalt* seen in December 2024. *HII** Each one of the new launch tubes for the *Zumwalt* class ships is 87 inches, or 7.25 feet, in diameter, per a [report from *USNI News*](). IRCPS missiles will be triple-packed into the tubes [via an Advanced Payload Module]() (APM) canister, for a total load of up to 12 missiles. The Navy also plans to eventually integrate IRCPS onto its future [Block V *Virginia* class submarines](). The IRCPS missiles themselves are tipped with an unpowered boost-glide vehicle on top and you can read more about hypersonic weapons of this general type [here](). The Navy is jointly developing the missile with the U.S. Army, which plans to field it in a ground-launched configuration called the [Dark Eagle or Long Range Hypersonic Weapon]() (LRHW). ![]() *A slide from a 2021 Navy briefing providing a visual overview of IRCPS and associated systems, including the APM canister, as well as the elements of the Army's Dark Eagle/LRHW effort. *USN** The goal now is to have *Zumwalt* ready for actual live-fire testing by the end of the year. Multiple ground-based IRCPS/Dark Eagle test launches have already occurred. This includes [the first successful firing]() of one of the missiles from the Army's trailer-based launcher in December, which followed some two years [of failed attempts to do so](). The Army had blamed those setbacks [on problems with the launcher](), not the missile. There is the possibility that the new tubes being added to the *Zumwalt* class ships could be used to fire other payloads in addition to IRCPS missiles. A rendering on display at the Surface Navy Association symposium this week depicted a *Zumwalt* class ship with seven-round canisters loaded into at least two of the tubes, as seen in the social media post below. *TWZ* has reached out to the Navy for more information. https://twitter.com/lfx160219/status/1879732705077956661 The Navy's [*Ohio* class guided missile submarines]() and Block 4 *Virginia* class boats both fire [Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles]() from their large launch tubes via seven-round canisters. The Block 5 *Virginias* will also notably feature four more such tubes in a new Virginia Payload Module (VPM). Other canister designs, including ones that could be used to launch uncrewed underwater and aerial systems, have at least been tested in relation to the *Ohio* class in the past, as you can read more about [here](). It's also unclear what will happen to the second Advanced Gun System on each of the *Zumwalt* class ships. The other AGS mount on USS *Zumwalt* remains in place, at least for now, [according to *USNI News*](). That space could potentially be reutilized for other purposes. The Navy might also seek to finally find more affordable ammunition for those guns, which are currently unusable after the Navy balked at the $800,000 unit price of the precision-guided [Long-Range Land Attack Projectiles]() (LRLAP) they were supposed to fire. Other [advanced extended-range guided 155mm rounds]() have emerged since then, including [ramjet-powered types]() the U.S. Army is currently exploring. In December, the Navy also [awarded General Atomics a contract]() to help mature its [Long Range Maneuvering Projectile ]()(LRMP), an unpowered design that features pop-out wings. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cH11dBX9P3g Regardless, as it stands now, the future USS *Lyndon B. Johnson*, the third *Zumwalt* class ship, which is still in the final phases of construction, is next in line to get the new launch tubes. When it comes to the AGS question, it's unclear whether *Johnson* has gotten or will get even a single turret. The second ship in the class, USS *Michael Monsoor*, will be the last to go through the conversion process. “We’ve extended the combat system aggravation period \[for *Johnson*\] by two years to accomplish this installation,” Lawler said during his presentation yesterday,[ according to *USNI News*](). “The CPS work was placed on contract in August and we dry-docked the ship this past Sunday.” ![]() *The future Zumwalt class destroyer USS *Lyndon B. Johnson* seen in 2018. *USN** The USS *Zumwalt* is expected to be able to actually employ IRCPS operationally sometime in 2026. Overall, the hypersonic missiles are viewed as an important new very-long-range strike capability for use against high-value strategic-level targets, especially in a future high-end fight, such as one against China in the Pacific. IRCPS also gives the extremely truncated *Zumwalt* class, which [has seen]() its [cutting-edge]() capabilities watered-down over the years, an important new purpose. Significant questions have been raised in the past [about the exact roles and missions]() of [the very costly trio of ships](). ![]() *The USS *Michael Monsoor*, the second *Zumwalt* class destroyer. *USN** With plans now to at least fire an IRCPS missile from USS *Zumwalt* before the end of the year, 2025 looks set to be a particularly important period for the stealth destroyers. *Contact the author: joe@twz.com* ## Author Joseph is *TWZ’s* Deputy Editor, helping to oversee the site’s highly experienced and dedicated team, while also writing informative and impactful defense and national security content. He lives right in the thick of it in the Washington, D.C. area. ### Author social links [Twitter]() [Bluesky]()