Just three weeks after commissioning the USS
Zumwalt, the U.S. Navy admitted it was canceling ammunition specially developed for the ship's high-tech gun systems because the rounds are too expensive. The guns, tailor made for the destroyer, will be unable to fire until the Navy chooses a cheaper replacement round.
The guns were designed to fire the advanced Long Range Land Attack Projectile, a GPS guided shell with a range of 60 miles. The result would have been a destroyer that could rain shells down on enemy targets incredible accuracy.
According to
Defense News, the LRLAP round costs $800,000—or more—each, making the rounds prohibitively expensive leaving the nearly $4 billion dollar destroyer's guns high and dry. For context, the smaller Mk. 45 5-inch gun, standard on Navy destroyers and cruisers, fires an unguided round with a range of 21 miles. Each round costs between $1,600 and $2,200.
Story. Popular Mechanica
15-June-2021
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