Zumwalt and railguns show the power-supply problem

The Zumwalt class should not be dismissed simply because some technologies intended for it failed to mature. Railguns are the central case because useful rate of fire depends on capacitors, recharge time, and the ship's ability to generate sustained electrical power. A nuclear-powered surface fleet might have supplied enough raw energy to make repeated firing more practical, although this remains speculative. The distinction matters because a promising hull can acquire a reputation for failure when an attached weapon is not ready for shipboard service. Naval weapon development in this case depends directly on propulsion choice and whole-ship electrical architecture.