Q&A ยท 3:06:38-3:07:26

Why Zumwalt did not become a new HMS Warrior

The comparison turns on a ship's effect on naval warfare and the consequences of curtailing its programme.

Question

Could the Zumwalt class have been the modern equivalent of HMS Warrior?

Short answer

The curtailed Zumwalt programme did not produce the wider change attributed to Warrior in this comparison.

Notes

HMS Warrior is used as the standard for a ship that changes naval warfare and compels a wider response. The discussion even raises the judgment that Warrior represented a greater change than Dreadnought. Zumwalt is rejected as an equivalent because the programme was curtailed. In this comparison, advanced features alone cannot give a ship the same effect when its own navy stops the programme.