Zumwalt class destroyer USS Zumwalt fires Evolved Sea Sparrow missile


According to information published by the U.S. DoD on April 14, 2022, the guided-missile destroyer, USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) conducts a live-fire missile exercise at the Point Mugu Test Range.
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Russian Vyborg Shipyard laid the Purga ice class coastguard ship of project 23550 925 001 Zumwalt class destroyer USS Zumwalt firing Evolved Sea Sparrow missile, California. (Picture source: U.S. DoD)


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 attacks. It is a multi-role class that was designed for secondary roles of surface warfare and anti-aircraft warfare and was originally designed with a primary role of naval gunfire support.

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 600 feet (180 m) in length, with a beam of 80.7 feet (24.6 m) and displacing approximately 15,000 tons. Michael Monsoor has a crew size of approximately 148 officers and sailors; she can make speed in excess of 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph).

The DDG 1000 is armed with 20 MK 57 VLS (Vertical launching System) modules, with 4 vertical launch cells in each module, 80 cells total. Each cell can hold one or more missiles, depending on the size of the missiles.

About RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow missile

The RIM-162 also called Evolved SeaSparrow Missile (ESSM) is a development of the RIM-7 Sea Sparrow surface-to-air missile used to protect ships from attacking missiles and aircraft.

The missile can be loaded in a quad-pack canister for the MK 41 VLS shipborne launching system. It can operate in all weather conditions, has a length of approximately 3.64 m, a diameter of 254 mm, and a weight of 280 kg. The missile has an operational range of 27 nautical miles (50 km).