Navy eyeing ZEUS, an upgrade program for the Zumwalt destroyers

[Tony]

WASHINGTON — The US Navy is eyeing a new improvement program focused on swapping various components from the Zumwalt-class destroyer to make the warship have more in common with the rest of the surface fleet, the latest potential changes for an expensive program already under the congressional microscope.

The service’s chief ship acquisition agency, Naval Sea Systems Command, initiated the nascent idea, dubbed the Zumwalt Enterprise Upgrade Solution, or ZEUS, with a public request for information to industry on Nov. 17, just days after the Navy was celebrating the Zumwalt’s (DDG-1000) first successful employment, during which it visited both US 3rd Fleet and US 7th Fleet.