As the USS Zumwalt progresses with combat activation, weapons integration and further preparations for operational combat, the Navy continues to more broadly scope its operational envelope and envision operations previously less emphasized mission areas for the ship.

Could the new destroyer actually wind up changing surface warfare?

While initially conceived, in large measure, as a littoral land attack platform, Navy program managers now say fast-progressing technology and the ship's performance thus far, will increasingly enable it to succeed in open or "blue water" combat should it engage is major power, force-on-force ocean warfare.