The USS Zumwalt is America’s newest stealth destroyer and probably the world’s most advanced warship ever. It also has unprecedented firepower but it has a catch. The vessel’s 155-millimeter Advanced Gun Systems is so expensive that the US Navy can’t afford the ammunition. Called the Long Range Land Attack Projectile is a GPS guided shell which has a range of 60 miles and it can strike with unmatched accuracy. The more impressive aspect is that it can shoot up to 10 of these projectiles every minute. The LRLAPs are no doubt lethal but they are also insanely priced at $800,000 a pop.
History of the Zumwalt
In the 1990s, when the Zumwalt class ships were designed they were in high demand. They wanted a strong armada of 32 ships in total but after 26 years, different expectations have grown, and it boiled down to just 3 ships. As the demand for the number of rounds decreased, prices were increased per round dramatically. Lockheed Martin originally claimed that they will supply the round with $50,000 each but it deviated from the price big-time. The prices of these rounds are ridiculous compared to the unguided rounds fired by the Mk. 45 5-inch gun, which is standard on existing destroyers.
There is still the option to get the new kinetic powered Rail-gun installed and there are also some older weapon systems which can be added, though they are less powerful than this weapon system.
