The USS Zumwalt May Have Found Ammo It Can Actually Afford to Fire

Popular Mechanics ^ | Dec 14, 2016 | Kyle Mizokami

[NorthMountain]

the vessel and its brethren

Ships are ladies. Shouldn't that be 'sisteren'?

[EQAndyBuzz]

What howitzer rounds are fired from Spooky? Is the Zumwalt looking to do the same thing?

[GailA]

Just looking at the ship design what the H use is it, can’t land a plane on it, no room on deck for many 50 Caliber weapons, does not act as a sub. Over Priced piece of useless PORK. It will never function well as a upgraded destroyer would.

You can bring the cost of ammo down, you can’t fix how badly it is designed and functions.

[NorthMountain]

Spectre fires 105mm ... the OP is discussing 155mm.

[freedumb2003]

By November 2016, the cost per-round had ballooned to $800,000.

Who the heck developed this weapons system, Batman's Penguin?

[EQAndyBuzz]

“Spectre fires 105mm ... the OP is discussing 155mm.”

Thank you.

[glorgau]

According to other sources the land version costs just $70,000 a round.

At that price, why not just chuck a brand new Land Rover at them?

[high info voter]

Having this kind of problem?..... pure STUPIDITY!

[Rashputin]

Every time I read about the Zumwalt I think of Jurassic Park with the old guy who built it constantly saying, "spared no expense", and how well that worked out in the movie.

[Riley]

At that price, why not just chuck a brand new Land Rover at them?

The looks on the faces of an ANGLICO team who'd just called for a fire mission would be priceless. :-)

[DocRock]

Refering to the photo caption:. A M777 self-propelled howitzer with 1st Battalion, 12th Marines fires an M982 Excalibur round in Afghanistan, 2011. Department of Defense photo.

If the Dept of Defense can't tell those aren't self propelled, we have bigger problems than cost of ammo.

[Flick Lives]

Zumwalt Class. Pretty. Pretty useless.

[NorthMountain]

can’t land a plane on it

[Sequoyah101]

Another pork barrel project from the shops at Lockheed.

They deserve to be driven out of business. A has been company.

Even $70,000 a round is way to expensive. Just unfeasible.

[Despot of the Delta]

It’s the only ship with the infrastructure to deploy the rail-gun.

[Carriage Hill]

On top of my gunsafe, is a 105mm and a 40mm rack, from a friend Cap'n PANG who flew a Spectre 130 in Afghanistan.

[HombreSecreto]

Exactly...unless there are about 10,000 microscopic, but very strong, elves hiding underneath!

[lacrew]

I wouldn’t mind a $70k price tag, if it had capabilities similar to a cruise missile - IE a very high hit probability, and long range. I think those things are almost a million bucks a copy.

[Wonder Warthog]

Hmmmmm.....how about taking the Excalibur and fitting it with a second stage solid rocket booster. This wouldn't need to be terribly smart, as the needed guidance corrections for accuracy can be done after the stage separates from the round.

However, other than tradition, why is a "gun" needed at all, when the same job can be done by a much simpler guided missile??