The Zumwalt Class

Foreign Policy has recently posted a story about the U.S. Navy’s new Zumwalt class guided missile destroyer.  The USN currently plans to construct three vessels of this class, at a cost of $7 billion per unit.  This is a huge sum of money, particularly as some naval architects have questioned its ability to remain afloat if struck from behind by a powerful wave.

While it seems difficult to believe that the USN would build a ship with such an obvious and potentially disastrous design flaw, one other comment in the article caught my eye.

The article highlights the phenomenal power generation capabilities of the Zumwalt class, noting that it may serve as a test platform for Boeing’s Free Electron Laser Weapon system.  That’s a laser gun to a layman.  In addition, it may one day sport a rail gun.

While no one is suggesting that these weapons will be mass produced and fitted on USN ships in the short to medium term – the example of ballistic missile defence illustrates the difficulties of bringing complex military technologies to fruition – should these weapons become part of the USN’s standard inventory, it would raise questions about the long-term future of major surface combatants.

Surface ships are already extremely vulnerable military platforms.  They are hugely expensive, increasingly easy to locate, move at relatively slow speeds and can be sunk by comparatively cheap weaponry such as anti ship missiles or mines.  In response, as illustrated by the Zumwalt, naval architects are turning to stealthy designs as a way to increase the survivability of surface vessels.  Should lasers or rail guns become de rigeur, however, it is difficult to imagine how surface vessels could effectively defend against them upon being located.

Perhaps the Zumwalt represents the final generation of major surface combatants.  Should Washington field such weapons, it seems reasonable to expect that they will soon be adopted by other advanced navies.  At this point, continuing to design and deploy surface combatants would appear to be an ineffective use of resources.  Submarine forces would be the obvious beneficiary as their ability to avoid detection would be even more attractive to naval planners.