The Navy has requested nearly $100 million to outfit its new stealth ship with weapons that will be able to take out other ships at long range.
Defense News cited the recent budget request as saying the Zumwalt-class destroyers, of which one is completed and on active duty, could include Raytheon's long-range SM-6 missile in the coming years.
The missile, according to Defense News, can take out targets in the air, on land, and on the water from a distance of several hundred miles. The Maritime Strike variant of the Tomahawk missile, which can also strike other ships at long range, would be outfitted onto the vessel as well.
The addition of the two missile systems onto the 600-foot stealth destroyer would make the ship even more lethal than it was designed to be.
"After a comprehensive review of Zumwalt-class requirements, Navy decided in November 2017 to refocus the primary mission of the Zumwalt Class Destroyers from Land Attack to Offensive Surface Strike," the budget documents read. "The funding requested in [FY19] will facilitate this change in mission and add lethal, offensive fires against targets afloat and ashore."
The Navy plans to purchase 625 of the SM-6 missiles between now and 2023.
The USS Zumwalt is the only one of the stealth destroyers that has been commissioned. It is currently undergoing upgrades at its home port of San Diego. The ship suffered damage while it was passing through the Panama Canal in November 2016 due to problems with its engines, which caused it to strike the canal's lock walls.
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