Zumwalt DDG’s Gun Munition Still on Hold

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy’s program executive offer in charge of most shipbuilding said that development of a new munition for the Advanced Gun System (AGS) on the DDG 1000 Zumwalt-class ship continues to be on hold.

Speaking July 11 at a Navy League Special Topic Breakfast, Rear Adm. William J. Galinis, program executive officer, Ships, said a replacement for the Long-Range Land-Attack Projectile (LRLAP) developed for the AGS “is on hold at this point.”

The LRLAP was canceled in part for its high cost given economies of scale when the DDG 1000 program was reduced from 32 planned ships to only three, leaving the AGS without a round available in quantity.

“Last fall, the Navy made the decision that we were going to transition [the Zumwalt] from a primary land-attack mission to more of a surface strike mission set,” Galinis said. “As we brought this platform on line and learned about the capability of the platform, it fits that mission requirement very well. There are some changes we need to make to the ship, but they are not significant.”

Galinis said the Navy has had challenges with getting the desired ranges from rounds fired from the AGS.

“Last summer, we had essentially a fly-off of four or five different rounds,” he said. “We’ve taken the analysis of those test firings. It’s kind of on hold at this point as we transition to surface strike.”

Galinis said that USS Zumwalt is expected to return to sea at the end of next month following installation of its combat systems in San Diego. The second hull, Michael Monsoor, is in Bath Iron Works shipyard in Maine for a post-delivery availability. One of its main turbine engines suffered a casualty and will be replaced.

The third hull, Lyndon B. Johnson, is expected to be launched by the end of the year and to begin sea trials by the end of 2019.