The Zumwalt-class destroyer is a class of three United States Navy guided-missile destroyers designed as multi-mission stealth ships with a focus on land attack. The class was designed with a primary role of naval gunfire support and secondary roles of surface warfare and anti-aircraft warfare. The class design emerged from the DD-21 "land attack destroyer" program as "DD(X)" and was intended to take the role of battleships in meeting a congressional mandate for naval fire support. The ship is designed around its two Advanced Gun Systems (AGS), utilizing unique Long Range Land Attack Projectile (LRLAP) ammunition. LRLAP procurement was canceled, rendering the guns unusable, so the Navy re-purposed the ships for surface warfare. In 2023, the Navy removed the AGS from the ships and replaced them with hypersonic missiles.
US Navy 030606-N-0000X-002 Artist's concept of the 210-meter (689 feet) DD(X) destroyer design by a Northrop Grumman Corporation-led team selected by the U.S. Navy to complete the system design for the Navy's advanced, 21
US Navy 080214-N-0923G-001 Susan Tomaiko, left, and Brian Cuccias, vice president and DDG 1000 program manager for Northrup Grumman Shipbuilding, sign the $1.4 billion construction contract for the DDG 1000 Zumwalt Class destro