Gen. John Hyten: Stratcom Eyes Low-Yield, Nuclear Cruise Missile Tech for Zumwalt-Class Destroyers

Air Force Gen. John Hyten, head of the U.S. Strategic Command, has said Stratcom considers equipping the U.S. Navy’s Zumwalt-class guided-missile destroyers (DDG-1000) with low-yield, sea-launched cruise missiles, Military.com reported Monday.

Hyten’s statement came after the Defense Department issued the Nuclear Posture Review that aims to advance the use of low-yield nuclear weapons such as SLCMs and sea-launched ballistic missiles.

He said in his Feb. 16 keynote speech at a National Defense University event in Washington that the NPR does not restrict the launch of SLCMs solely from ballistic submarines.

“We want to look at a number of options — everything from surface DDG 1000s into submarines, different types of submarines” for the SLCMs, said Hyten, a 2018 Wash100 recipient.

“That’s what the president’s budget has requested of us — to go look at those platforms, and we’re going to walk down that path,” he added.