Navy Plans Uss Zumwalt Fuel Upgrade for Monsoor Patrols
The Navy plans to give uss zumwalt destroyer USS Michael Monsoor a Fuel Endurance and Range modification that converts salt water ballast tanks into extra fuel capacity. The refit is aimed at letting the ship spend longer periods at sea as it supports hypersonic missile patrols.
The work also includes changes designed to let the Zumwalt class take on more fuel during replenishment. That gives the first Navy hypersonic strike platforms more time on station in the Pacific, where the distances between ports and support points are large.
Michael Monsoor refit
USS Michael Monsoor is the next Zumwalt-class destroyer set for the endurance upgrade, according to recently released documents. The modification will convert existing salt water ballast tanks to accommodate an enlarged fuel oil capacity.
Clint Lawler, program manager for the Zumwalt-class Destroyer program office, said at Surface Navy Association 2025 that the class will serve as the Navy’s lead offensive surface ship. He said, “The Zumwalt class, with its advanced stealth design and integration of the Conventional Prompt Strike weapons system, will be the Navy’s premier offensive surface combatant, providing sea-based precision capabilities that can effectively engage strategic targets with long-range fires,”
Zumwalt-class weapons conversion
The fuel work follows the Navy’s first Conventional Prompt Strike Modernization effort on USS Zumwalt in 2023 at HII Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi. USS Lyndon B. Johnson docked at the same shipyard in 2025 for its own conversion.
Both Advanced Gun System turrets were removed to make room for equipment for the Conventional Prompt Strike system. One former mount will hold a Large Missile Vertical Launching System with four Advanced Payload Modules carrying three hypersonic missiles each.
Naval Sea Systems Command said the second mount will remain empty “for future capabilities.”
Three ships, one mission
The Zumwalt class was originally conceived to provide naval gunfire support, but only three of the envisioned 32 destroyers were built. The remaining ships are being repurposed for hypersonic weapons, and the fuel upgrades are meant to let them loiter longer during deterrence missions in the Indo-Pacific.
For USS Michael Monsoor, the practical result is simple: more fuel, more time underway, and more room to sustain long-range patrols before the ship must replenish.
