New Naval Facilities Engineering System Command (NAVFAC) documents reveal U.S. Navy plans for a hypersonic missile storage facility at NWS Yorktown to support CPS-equipped Zumwalt and Virginia classes.
NAVFAC Mid-Atlantic has published its requirements for the construction of a new facility at Naval Weapons Station Yorktown, just north of Newport News Shipbuilding and the main Naval Station Norfolk base complex. Once completed, the facility will service Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) weapons used aboard DDG-1000 Zumwalt-class destroyers and Block V and VI Virginia-class submarines.
The facility seeks to accommodate the CPS’s larger size and diameter compared to current weapons in U.S. Navy service, representing a dedicated complex on the grounds of Naval Weapons Station Yorktown to handle operational, maintenance, and storage needs. The selection of Yorktown demonstrates the Navy’s need to support CPS-carrying vessels in the Atlantic, partially owing to the eventual stationing of Virginia Payload Module (VPM) equipped submarines at Norfolk, but also alluding to a Zumwalt-class destroyer potentially transitioning its home port to the East Coast.
The posted contract stipulates the facility will contain one “Containerized Large Weapons Storage (CLWS) two-bay earth-covered magazine,” alongside two mechanical buildings to sustain climate control and electricity to the main storage area, and one emergency generator facility. Each bay contains one 25-ton bridge crane (two total) designed to move along an overhead rail, likely to transport CPS rounds and sub-components about the facility prior to loading or shipping.
The requirements also stress the need for reinforcement and protection. Storage and support buildings forming part of the overall facility will feature “reinforced concrete mat foundations, walls, floors, roof, and entrance and loading aprons. It will include ordnance bonding, grounding and lightning protection systems, and earth covering.” The contract explicitly states the need for magazine protection, likely in the form of a concrete roof and partial burial with earth.
CPS Aboard the Zumwalts
For the Zumwalt class, the fielding of CPS can only happen after each of the three vessels completes an overhaul period, where components related to the gun emplacements are stripped out and replaced by CPS housings known as the Advanced Payload Module. Efforts to convert the Zumwalts to hypersonic missile carriers came after a string of missteps for the program, which ultimately led to construction halting at three vessels instead of the intended 32, effectively rendering the now-removed Advanced Gun Systems (AGS) obsolete.
Delays and rising costs have plagued ongoing conversion efforts. A Government Accountability Office report published in July 2026 found that costs for DDG-1000 modernization efforts have risen by $200 million to approximately $2 billion. Construction and refitting periods have been complicated by the need for unplanned work and specialized equipment aboard the vessels. Ultimately, as a result of these delays, the first Zumwalt back in service will complete a CPS firing in 2027, nearly two years after the initially stated date.
USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000) will experience a 10-month delay in returning to service, pushing the expected return date to later in 2026. Following the lead ship, USS Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG-1002) will be the second vessel to complete her overhaul (referred to as the Mission Systems Activation period) in Q4 of FY 2028, following a 12-to-15-month delay. Finally, USS Michael Monsoor (DDG-1001) will begin conversion work early in 2027 and will not return to service until Q3 of FY 2029.
CPS Aboard the Virginias
Only Block V and VI Virginia-class submarines will utilize CPS rounds through the installation of the Virginia Payload Module, which adds four additional Vertical Launch System canisters toward the middle of the submarine. Each of the four canisters can contain either seven Tomahawk-sized munitions or three CPS rounds, allowing for 12 CPS rounds total to be carried aboard each VPM-equipped submarine. Due to the extra missile capacity, the U.S. Navy has re-designated VPM equipped submarines as Nuclear Powered Cruise Missile carrying submarines (SSGNs).
The U.S. Navy currently views installation and conversion efforts aboard the Zumwalts as risk mitigation for future endeavors to mount CPS aboard Virginia-class submarines, as both mounting systems share a large amount of commonality. If successful, the Virginias will avoid the same kind of delays currently impeding the Zumwalts, and the technology related to the CPS weapon system itself will likely mature by the time the first Block V Virginia enters service.
Construction work remains ongoing as the Navy prepares to induct the first of nine VPM-equipped Block Vs in 2028 (the first Block V, USS Oklahoma (SSN-802), will not feature the VPM), with the commissioning of the future USS Arizona (SSN-803) expected in 2029. Naval News recently reported on photos posted depicting the first VPM during transit to General Dynamics Electric Boat’s main facility in Groton, Connecticut prior to final assembly. In total, 19 VPM equipped submarines, split along 9 Block Vs and 10 Block VIs, will enter service.
