What if the United States built the planned class of thirty-two Zumwalt destroyers?
Short answerThe class would likely branch into specialized variants, become progressively cheaper, and perhaps replace later Burke construction.
NotesThe first ships might retain the intended gun fit, while later hulls adopt hypersonic weapons and revised missile batteries. The class's electrical capacity could support an air-defense command variant combining a Zumwalt hull with an Aegis-like suite. Once thirty-two hulls were planned, learning and production economies might make continued Zumwalt construction more attractive than further Burke flights.