Military

US Navy takes possession of its largest ever destroyer

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The USS Zumwalt is the largest destroyer ever built for the US Navy
U.S. Navy photo courtesy of General Dynamics/Released
DDG 1000 in drydock
U.S. Navy photo courtesy of General Dynamics/Released
USS Zumwalt underway
US Navy
The USS Zumwalt is the largest destroyer ever built for the US Navy
U.S. Navy photo courtesy of General Dynamics/Released
Captain Michael Taylor, commander of Supervisor of Shipbuilding in Bath, Maine, shakes hands with Fred Harris, president of Bath Iron Works
US Navy
Captain Michael Taylor takes formal possession of the Zumwalt on behalf of the US Navy
US Navy
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The US Navy took formal possession of its largest ever destroyer as the future USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) changed hands from the Bath Iron Works shipyard in Maine. Billed as "the most technically complex and advanced warship the world has ever seen," the handover follows months of sea trials during which the first in its class, multi-mission land attack and littoral dominance warship was tested to certify its hull, mechanical, and electrical systems, propulsion, and anchor and mooring systems.

With its distinct tumblehome hull and composite superstructure, the Zumwalt is notable not only for its size, but also for its suite of advanced stealth features that reduce the ship's radar profile by a factor of 50 over current destroyer designs.

Carrying a crew of 130 and an air detachment of 28, the destroyer is armed with two 155 mm Advanced Gun Systems (AGS) firing rocket-powered precision Long-Range Land Attack Projectiles (LRLAP) with a range of 63 nm (72 mi/117 km), which is three times greater than current surface gunnery.

DDG 1000 in drydock
U.S. Navy photo courtesy of General Dynamics/Released

The Navy says this is the first US warship to incorporate the Integrated Power System (IPS), which is an all-electric system powered by gas turbines. This design was chosen not only for economy and survivability, but also in anticipation of future energy weapons.

Named after former Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Elmo R "Bud" Zumwalt Jr, construction of the US$4 billion Zumwalt began in 2009 and it was launched in 2014. The Navy says that it's designed to operate independently in forward areas to provide presence and deterrence, as well as operating with joint and combined expeditionary forces as a multi-mission Anti-Air Warfare, Anti-Submarine Warfare, and Anti-Surface Warfare unit.

The Zumwalt will now undergo crew certification before its formal commissioning in October in Baltimore, Maryland, after which it will sail to its homeport in San Diego, California.

USS Zumwalt underway
US Navy

"Today represents a significant achievement for not only the DDG 1000 program and shipbuilding team but for the entire US Navy," says Rear Admiral Jim Downey, DDG 1000 program manager and Program Executive Office Ships. "This impressive ship incorporates a new design alongside the integration of sophisticated new technologies that will lead the Navy into the next generation of capabilities."

The video below shows the Zumwalt underway.

Source: US Navy

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22 comments
Derek Howe
I love the look of this ship, she's a beauty! I hate the fact that it costs so much, and because of it were getting so few of them. Also, you forgot to mention on really cool fact: At the helm is Captain James Kirk. :)
piperTom
The guns are 115 mm? That's about 4½ inches and smaller than modern tank guns. One must wonder what targets the navy envisions for such a puny weapon.
Mikey T
As they say "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder". Personally, I think it's really ugly but maybe that's just me :)
rude.dawg
Mr Wikipedia mentions the Zumwalt can carry a combination of 80 missiles: from ESSM, anti-sub rockets to the Tomahawk.
Maybe future developments will allow it to also submerge and navigate underwater then come back up undetected on the other side of the planet.
GurubandhuKhalsa
It looks fast. What is the speed?
Michael Z. Williamson
piperTom: That "puny weapon" has a better than 70 mile range and fires not only precision, but very advanced warheads.
As you can shoot through both inner and outer hulls of most modern ships with a high powered rifle, it's more than enough.
Then there's the missiles...
And the small crew and efficient engines reduce operating cost tremendously over a comparable boat with diesels or boilers and larger crew.
ArcLight
...that would make one hell of a waterfront condo...
Phillip Noe
What a waste of our tax dollars all thanks to the war machine and their sponsors in Congress.
Calson
$4 billion a copy for ships to more effectively destroy people overseas. I would have thought that the country's existing bombers and cruise missiles and fighter jets have already demonstrated the ability to kill millions of people quite effectively and that would be enough. But in terms of death and destruction the American military is not aware of the concept of overkill. Instead we spend 62% of our discretionary tax money on war and occupation when we cannot as a nation feed or educate our children or maintain current infrastructure much less develop more efficient means of energy production or transport or health care. Why is killing such a priority for neocon capitalists?
rollzone
Hello... The first platform to be sunk by an adversary at the outbreak of political hostilities. Plan the future is this tube gliding to Mars and beyond. If it survives the humans slaughtering each other over money.