The Zumwalt-class guided-missile destroyers USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) and USS Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001), are moored side by side at Naval Station San Diego on June 8, 2023. According to reports on August 25, the Zumwalt was getting technology upgrades at a port in Mississippi. (Mark D. Faram/U.S. Navy)
(Tribune News Service) — A U.S. Navy warship arrived recently at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, where crews will add technology to the vessel so it can hold missiles that travel more than five times the speed of sound.
The Navy plans to add four missile tubes to the ship, which is called the USS Zumwalt, the trade publication USNI News reported. The Zumwalt will hold 12 missiles in total once the work is complete.
Cmdr. Arlo Abrahamson, a spokesman for the U.S. Naval Surface Force, said Pascagoula is the USS Zumwalt's new homeport.
"The upgrades will ensure Zumwalt remains one of the most technologically advanced and lethal ships in the U.S. Navy," Abrahamson said in a statement.
The 16,000-ton ship traveled to Pascagoula from San Diego, where it had been based after being commissioned into service in Baltimore in 2016.
It is a stealth ship — designed to avoid detection near land and at sea — and has enough energy to power a small town. The Navy hopes it will be ready to deploy with hypersonic missiles by 2025.
Ingalls Shipbuilding President Kari Wilkinson welcomed Zumwalt crew and families, calling them "the newest members of our shipyard community."
"It is an honor for us to serve you and the Navy by doing this important work," Wilkinson said in a statement.
It is unclear if the Navy will meet its 2025 timeline.
The Navy is a year behind its original testing goal, according to a Government Accountability Office report. The report also noted challenges with adding the missiles to a boat for the first time.
"We found that significant work remains for the program to demonstrate technology maturity," the report said.
Ingalls will complete the work under a $10.5 million contract, according to a press release from January. The project also includes updates to two similar ships called USS Michael Monsoor and USS Lyndon B. Johnson.
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