Sal Mercogliano suggests that using an Army-compatible gun and ammunition might have avoided Zumwalt's specialized ammunition problem. Alex Clarke distinguishes the projectile's metal body and explosive from its expensive sensors and guidance components. In his alternative, a naval shell or longer-calibre gun could differ while retaining common electronics and other smart components. The claimed saving therefore depends on component commonality, without requiring every part of the round to be identical. Zumwalt's large electrical output then returns the focus to useful capacity in the underlying ship.
Notable Point · 31:16-32:17
Guided-shell commonality can matter more than matching the gun
A debate over Zumwalt's 155 mm gun separates common ammunition from sharing the expensive electronics inside guided shells.