A fire broke out on the destroyer USS Zumwalt, injuring three sailors; the cause and extent of the damage are unclear.

The incident occurred on the evening of April 19th while the USS Zumwalt was docked in Pascagoula, Mississippi, but the information was only released by the US Navy on April 22nd. The fire injured three sailors, one of whom was hospitalized and is in stable condition.

The US Navy is investigating the cause and assessing the damage to the Zumwalt.

The destroyer USS Zumwalt left the shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi, on January 15. Photo: Warshipcam

The incident occurred while the Zumwalt was undergoing testing after a modernization at the Huntington Ingalls (HII) shipyard. The project began in August 2023, in which the 155 mm AGS long-range gun was to be replaced with a series of C-HGB hypersonic missile launchers.

In December 2024, the Zumwalt left the dry dock and entered the next phase of preparation for its return to service. The warship went to sea for the first time on January 15, after more than two years in the shipyard.

The USS Zumwalt is the first of its class, considered one of the most expensive military projects in US history, but it has been disappointing due to a series of design flaws, cost overruns, and delays.

The U.S. Congress reduced the order number from 32 to just 3 ships, with the USS Zumwalt and USS Michael Monsoor already commissioned, and the USS Lyndon B. Johnson launched in 2019 and currently undergoing testing.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) stated in September 2020 that each Zumwalt-class ship costs more than $9 billion, including research and development costs, compared to the projected price of $1.3 billion per ship in 1998. The agency estimated that the Zumwalt class would only be fully operational by after 2025 at the earliest.

The destroyer USS Zumwalt left the shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi in December 2024. Photo: HII

The US Navy initially intended to use the Zumwalt class to attack coastal targets with its AGS (Advanced Guided Gun) system. This is the largest gun the US has built and equipped on a warship since World War II, capable of firing 10 rounds per minute at targets more than 150 km from the firing position.

However, each long-range guided artillery shell (LRLAP) for the AGS costs nearly one million dollars, forcing the US Navy to abandon its plan to purchase the ammunition and instead explore ways to modify the weapon configuration for the Zumwalt class. In late 2021, the US Navy announced it would convert Zumwalt-class destroyers, removing the AGS system and equipping them with the IRCPS (Intelligent Rapid-Operation Parasonic Missile).