Posted on 12/22/2015 11:28:09 AM PST by Mariner
It is 600 feet long, weighs 15,000 tons and its captain is named James Kirk. You read that right. The USS Zumwalt is the largest destroyer ever built, and, with its inverse bow and radar-deflecting angles, the stealthiest. The Zumwalt weighed anchor this morning and steamed from Bath Iron Works, in Bath, Maine, down the Kennebeck River and out to sea, where it will conduct its first sea trials.
First announced in 2001, the Zumwalt-class destroyers are a $4.4 billion test crucible for a slew of new naval doodads, including all-electric propulsion, new radar and sonar systems, powerful missiles and guns. Advanced AI and automation will allow the warship to operate with a much smaller crew size than current destroyers.
The propulsion system is the first on a Navy “surface combatant†to be electric. The Zumwalt combines that novel drive with an “integrated power system†consisting of two Rolls-Royce gas turbine generators, another two auxiliary generators, and two 34.6-megawatt induction motors.
(Excerpt) Read more at thedrive.com ...
I also like the idea of a 15k ton "Destroyer" (a Cruiser by any historical definition) with about 200 VLS tubes and a rail gun.
But I think the stealth idea in a 15k ton piece of steel is a bit silly and not worth the extra dollars invested.
They should continue development if they think they can put such ships to sea at, or under $1.5bil.
Otherwise we should continue to develop and build the Burke class DDG.
And then the hydros popped and it needed a tow ...
The caterpillar drive!!
I still find the phrase “weighed anchor” humorous. I think of a very big scales with an anchor positioned on it. Or the anchor hanging from a scales like a prized marlin. Just funny in a strange sort of “weigh”.
Looks like a futuristic offspring of the Merrimack
If it turns out to be a failure, it was at least aptly named. Adm. Zumwalt was a complete a$$hole!
“I am not opposed to electric drive in principal. As long as it works reliably.”
Has been working reliably on ships and trains for decades.
Not to mention my electric trolling motor.
Looks like a giant shark fin. Pretty intimidating.
Different ship. That was one of the LCS’s
Different ship.
Looks like something the Egyptians or Mesopotamians would have built.
The bow looks circa WWI.
That was on of the new LCS. Not the Zumwalt.
It will be tough to retrofit an “Atlantic Bow” to this submarine - might want to avoid the North Atlantic and Bering Sea patrols.
Yes, it has. Especially in trains.
But you can bet your sweet bippy the USN didn't buy a proven design off the shelf and adapt it. I'm sure they went with something not yet proven and built to a bunch of specifications that will never occur in the real world.
You know how they can be...
How are they going to mask the gas turbines’ output so there will be no ‘heat bloom’?
A destroyer with no guns? I cannot see a vls-launched missile with the ability to make a hairpin turn, should the intended target be found close to the ship!
The infamous ‘z-grams’ that ran roughshod through the Navy under his command culminated in his being a real Richard.
Yeah, I have an old Navy buddy, now a civilian contractor, who worked on many of the systems fitted onto this ship.
We'll just call her a development platform.
Like, where are the RADAR, Communications and EW antennas? You think the Russians and Chinese are asking themselves that?
What's under those humps?
They'll find out soon enough.
Two rail guns will be fitted at a future date, one fore and one aft.
If it really has the radar cross section of a fishing boat, its an improvement. Likely rides like a cork.
With electric drive, it may be quiet. It’s what I don’t know about it that may be more impressive. For example, if it runs on batteries, I’m a fan.
Anything with a rail gun is going to have batteries, or very advanced capacitors.
Having something like that sneak up on you in the fog, slipping in among the rest of the fishing fleet could ruin your whole day.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.