A new US destroyer bristling wth hypersonic and laser weapons

The US has revealed plans for a next-generation destroyer which will be packed with hypersonic missiles and laser weapons to challenge the threat posed by China’s rapidly growing navy. The new warship, expected to be the largest of its kind built in the last two decades, will have about 100 silos for all types of missiles including large ones to take the hypersonic weapons capable of reaching more than five times the speed of sound (Mach 5). The armoury of hypersonic and laser systems will enable the destroyer, known currently as DDGX, to shoot down low-flying anti-ship cruise missiles and enemy fighter aircraft as well as weapons travelling at more than Mach 5. The guided-missile DDGX will replace the US Navy’s current fleet of 22 Ticonderoga-class and 69 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. The new destroyer will become the principal escort to protect aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, especially when they are deployed to the Indo-Pacific region. China is developing hypersonic weapons and already has anti-ship ballistic missiles. Under current plans the first of the next-generation destroyers will be ordered in 2028 and be ready for service by around 2032. It will be the first US Navy warship to be designed specifically to carry hypersonic missiles. Three multi-mission Zumwalt-class destroyers, the last of which is still being fitted out, are now having to be converted to make room for 12 of the heavyweight missiles. The US Navy had originally planned to build 32 of the exotically-shaped Zumwalt-class destroyers but the programme was cancelled after the first three had been ordered. The DDGX will form the backbone of the navy’s escort fleet. Each ship is likely to cost at least $1 billion. The destroyer will be armed with the conventional prompt strike hypersonic missile which is being developed jointly by the US Navy and US Army. It’s expected to have a range of more than 1,700 miles. The weapon system has a glide vehicle with a conventional warhead that separates from the missile when it reaches Mach 5 and then flies down to hit the target with enormous kinetic force. The navy hopes to have its version of the hypersonic system ready to field in 2023. The laser will be based on the Helios system, a 60-kilowatt high-energy system which has been designed to burn a hole through a low-flying fighter aircraft or drone or even guided missiles. The navy is planning for a laser that will be ten times more powerful, a 600-kilowatt system, for when the DDGX is completed. Katherine Connelly, deputy programme manager for the new destroyer, said “increased missile capability and directed energy weapons” would play a vital role in combating new threats in the 21st century.