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Video from Maine Imaging Photography showing the U.S. Navy’s Zumwalt (DDG-1000) entering Portland Harbor following sea trials in December. The Zumwalt is the first of three planned Zumwalt-class stealth destroyers being built for the Navy by General Dynamics Bath Iron Works in Maine.

8 Over the years it’s become commonplace for writers to sex up their descriptions of guided-missile destroyer (DDG) Zumwalt, the U.S. Navy’s newest surface combatant. Commentators of such leanings depict the ultra-high-tech DDG-1000 [4] as a battleship. Better yet, it’s a “stealth [5] battleship [6]”—a fit subject [7] for sci-fi [8]! Not so. And getting the nomenclature right matters: calling a man-of-war a battleship conjures up images in the popular mind of thickly armored dreadnoughts bristling with big guns blazing away at one another on the high seas, pummeling shore targets in Normandy or Kuwait, or belching smoke and flame...

Bath, Maine — The largest destroyer built for the U.S. Navy cuts an imposing figure: massive, with an angular shape, hidden weapons and antennas, and electric-drive propulsion. But underneath the stealthy exterior resides a style of hull that fell out of favor a century ago in part because it can be unstable. The Navy will soon learn how this modern take on the “tumblehome” hull holds up when the first-in-class Zumwalt heads out to sea in December for builder trials in the rough-and-tumble North Atlantic. Amy Lent, of the Maine Maritime Museum, which works closely with the shipyard, said taxpayers...

The Pentagon is considering whether to cancel construction of one of the next-generation destroyers being built at Bath Iron Works, a move that would imperil jobs at Maine’s fifth-largest private employer. Several reports said the Defense Department is trying to decide whether to complete construction of the USS Lyndon B. Johnson, the last of three Zumwalt-class destroyers, even though the vessel already is more than 40 percent complete. It’s a topic “to be reviewed in the next few weeks” by teams formed by the Pentagon’s independent cost-assessment office, according to a report by Bloomberg News that cited an Aug. 25...

Delays in the construction of the first two of three next-generation Zumwalt-class (DDG-1000) guided missile destroyers at the General Dynamics Bath Iron Works shipyard are partially to blame for slowing work on two Arleigh Burke (DDG-51) destroyers being built at the Maine yard, USNI News has learned. Several sources told USNI News that due to myriad reasons — including the size of the yard, the composition of the workforce at BIW and continued setbacks in the delivery of the first two next-generation Zumwalts — production of the future Burkes Rafael Peralta (DDG-115) and Thomas Hudner (DDG-116) have been delayed by...

General Dynamics Corp will deliver two Zumwalt-class destroyers a year later than planned, U.S. Navy officials said, blaming complications related to new technology. The Navy is adjusting its official baseline for the $22 billion DDG 1000 ship program to reflect the new delivery dates but the change will not trigger a mandatory review since the resulting cost increase will be under 15 percent, a defense official told Reuters, requesting anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.

The U.S. Navy’s DDG-1000 Zumwalt-class destroyers are extraordinarily expensive. Since 2009, the cost of the ships has increased 34.4 percent, according to the Congressional Research Service. Each of the three Zumwalt’s being built will cost taxpayers around $3.4 billion. And, that’s on top of the more than $9 billion in research and design funding that has gone into this program. Are they worth the price? The Navy didn’t think so in 2009 when Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced the program would end with the procurement of just three ships, down from the 32 ships the Navy had initially planned...

The U.S. Navy is slowly preparing the first of its massive, 15,500-ton Zumwalt-class stealth destroyers for sea next year. But questions remain about many of the technologies onboard the new ships. First and foremost: can the thing even stay afloat? The vessel—which is the largest American surface warship since the 1950s--brings a new untried “tumblehome” hull design, new power systems and gun technology that have not been used on a modern warship before. The ship is highly automated with a crew of just 142 -- compared to older ships that have a complement of about 300. But despite its massive...

The U.S. Navy on Saturday christened the first ship of its newest class of destroyers, a more than $3 billion, 610-foot-long warship sporting advanced technology and a stealthy shape designed to minimize its visibility on enemy radar and reduce the size of its crew. ... Among the 15,000-ton warship's cutting-edge features are a composite deckhouse with hidden radar and sensors and an angular shape that officials say will allow it to be confused for a small fishing boat on radars. It also sports wave-piercing hull designed to reduce the ship's wake. It's the first U.S. ship to use electric propulsion...

Let me give you a different and maybe shocking perspective on the Obamacare website that I have not seen mentioned. When the site rolled out and failed enormously in October, it was reported that we (the American people) had already paid >$300 million on it and we had contractual obligations over the next few years that would bring the total expenditure to >$600 million. Then, with all the foolish fumblings, panicked disclaimers and hiring more "experts" to fix what should not be broken, it developed that no one, not even the new "experts" were confident that they could fix the...

A time lapse shot of the USS Zumwalt being moved from the pier to the drydock, and then to the water.

A man named James Kirk will be the captain of the $4bn USS Zumwalt, the first of America's new stealth destroyers. No, I am not making this up.

With its fearsome array of weapons, radar evading silhouette and $7billion price tag, this is one of America's most deadly - and expensive - warships ever. USS Zumwalt - the largest destroyer ever made - is just days away from leaving the specially constructed dry docks and entering the water. Equipped with guns capable of firing warheads 100 miles, stealth features, and engine able to generate enough power to run 78,000 homes, America is hoping it with guarantee its naval supremacy for decades to come.

BATH, ME -- After embarrassing troubles with its latest class of surface warships, the Navy is hoping for a winner from a new destroyer that's ready to go into the water. So far, construction of the first-in-class Zumwalt, the largest U.S. Navy destroyer ever built, is on time and on budget, something that's a rarity in new defense programs, officials said. And the Navy believes the ship's big gun, stealthy silhouette and advance features will make it a formidable package.

Due to the U.S. government shutdown over the past few weeks, the christening of the U.S. Navy and General Dynamics-Bath Iron Works’ latest creation – DDG 1000 (soon to be USS Zumwalt) was unfortunately put on hold. The good news is, Bath Iron Works shipyard, located in the great state of Maine – home of lobsters, pine trees, and Shipyard Ale, released the following images of this incredible ship, with lines that probably haven’t been seen on a ship since the 19th century.

The $7 billion dollar warship being built to maintain American naval supremacy over China in the 21st Century One of the largest, most expensive and advanced warships ever commissioned for the U.S Navy is taking shape at Bath Iron Works shipyard in Maine. Named the U.S.S Zumwalt, the $7 billion guided-missile destroyer is at the cutting edge of technology and now deemed vital for defence following President Obama's Asia-Pacific pivot. Featuring a radical wave-piercing hull known as a 'tumblehome', the odd looking ship incorporates stealth technology that makes the 600-foot, 14,500 ton warship seem like a fishing vessel to enemy...

Milestone marked on stealthy destroyer under construction at Maine's Bath Iron Works DAVID SHARP Associated Press BATH, Maine — Two daughters and son of the late Adm. Elmo "Bud" Zumwalt helped Bath Iron Works mark a milestone Thursday in construction of the largest ship to be built in more than two decades at the shipyard. The ship's co-sponsors, Ann Zumwalt and Mouzetta Zumwalt-Weathers, were accompanied by their brother, retired Marine Lt. Col James G. Zumwalt, at a ceremony marking the "laying of the keel," a Navy tradition dating to the days of sail, when the ship's keel served as the...

The Return of the Zumwalt Guided-Missile Destroyers Mackenzie Eaglen October 3, 2011 at 12:25 pm Artist rendering of the Zumwalt class destroyer The U.S. Navy has approved contracts to finish building the hulls of the second and third ships of the Zumwalt class of guided-missile destroyers being constructed at General Dynamics Bath Iron Works in Maine. The $1.8 billion contract will also fund systems integration of the DDG-1001 Michael Monsoor and DDG-1002. The second ship of the class is named after the late Navy SEAL Michael A. Monsoor, who received the Medal of Honor for sacrificing his life for his...

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) _ The Navy has changed course and decided to push for construction of a third DDG-1000 destroyer that would be built at Bath Iron Works, Sen. Susan Collins said Monday. The Maine Republican said Navy Secretary Donald Winter informed her of the decision that comes one month after the Navy said it was scrapping the Zumwalt destroyer program once the first two are built. The Navy said at the time that it was opting instead to build more of the current-generation DDG-51, or Arleigh Burke, destroyers. Collins quoted Winter as saying that in addition to seeking...

As predicted by The Nav Log, the Navy has finally admitted that the new, gigantic (14,000 ton) DDG-1000 guided missile destroyer and CGN-X new guided missile cruiser are just too expensive and technically problematic to build as replacements for the existing Burke DDGs and Ticonderoga CGs. The Navy is reportedly in the process of dropping both programs. Latest estimates per copy of the DDG-1000 are $5 billion + each per the Congressional Budget Office. Ouch. A dozen Spruance-class destroyers – built in the 70s and 80s and dogged by a reputation as being difficult to sail and maintain – were...