The Zumwalt-class guided-missile destroyer Michael Monsoor arrived in Yokosuka, Japan, on Monday for a regularly scheduled port visit, a U.S. 7th Fleet spokesperson confirmed.
The destroyer, part of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, departed Naval Base San Diego, California, on March 28 to conduct operations in the Indo-Pacific. The Monsoor is assigned to Destroyer Squadron 15, the Navy’s largest destroyer squadron and the 7th Fleet’s primary surface force.
“U.S. Navy ships routinely conduct port visits for rest, refuel, replenishment, and repair to sustain our operations at sea and ensure our forces are always ready to respond to any contingency,” the spokesperson said.
The service is in the process of renovating the weapons systems for the Zumwalt-class stealth destroyers — which include the Zumwalt, Monsoor and Lyndon B. Johnson — so that they’re capable of firing hypersonic missiles that travel at Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound.
The goal is to equip each ship with four missile tubes, each capable of carrying three missiles, resulting in a total of 12 hypersonic weapons per ship.
The overhauling effort, known as the Conventional Prompt Strike program, is being developed simultaneously by the Navy and Army.
The speed of the munition — roughly 3,800 miles per hour — is so great that it doesn’t need a warhead attached to inflict catastrophic damage.
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The Zumwalt’s twin turrets were ripped out and replaced with missile tubes at a Mississippi shipyard in 2023 in preparation for the full installation of the system, which is ongoing.
The Monsoor is in line for the same treatment.
The U.S. has accelerated its development and implementation of hypersonic weapons and also strengthened its presence in the Indo-Pacific, as China’s military has experimented with its own hypersonic capabilities and expanded its naval presence in the South and East China Seas.
In 2023, The Washington Post reported that documents leaked by former Massachusetts Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira revealed DOD intelligence that confirmed China had tested an intermediate-range hypersonic weapon, called the DF-27.
The Zumwalt class of ships has been criticized as a bloated investment, totaling $7.5 billion per ship, that didn’t pan out as intended.
The destroyers were initially manufactured for their ability to provide land-attack capabilities, bolstered by an advanced gun system that could launch rocket-assisted projectiles. But the weapons system was canceled after its cost ballooned, with each projectile for the 155mm guns slated to cost between $800,000 and $1 million.
The Navy plans to field the Conventional Prompt Strike capability aboard Zumwalt-class destroyers by the mid-2020s, a 7th Fleet spokesperson told Military Times.
It will cost close to $18 billion for 300 of the weapons, plus maintenance over 20 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Riley Ceder is a reporter at Military Times, where he covers breaking news, criminal justice, investigations, and cyber. He previously worked as an investigative practicum student at The Washington Post, where he contributed to the Abused by the Badge investigation.
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