The USS Zumwalt, the Navy’s $7.5 billion stealth destroyer, is being retrofitted to carry hypersonic missiles, marking the first deployment of such weapons on a U.S. warship.

The U.S. is working to catch up with Russia and China in developing hypersonic weapons that travel beyond Mach 5.

The United States Navy’s famed stealth destroyer, the USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000), is being retrofitted to carry the service’s first-ever hypersonic missile. The works are planned for all three of the ships of the class and are being undertaken at Huntington Ingalls Industries shipyard in Pascagoula,

The US is deploying a shipborn hypersonic missile battery to the USS Zumwalt, a destroyer once thought a major mistake.

Recent tests of the advanced weapons by both Russia and China have increased pressure on the US military to hasten their production.