Posted on 05/15/2016 7:06:35 AM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
BATH, Maine (AP) — The U.S. Navy is ready to take ownership of the Zumwalt, its largest and most technologically sophisticated destroyer.
Sailors' uniforms and personal effects, supplies and spare parts are being moved aboard the 610-foot warship in anticipation of crew members taking on their new charge, said Capt. James Kirk, the destroyer's skipper.
The Zumbalt is the first new class of warship built at Bath Iron Works since the Arleigh Burke slid into the Kennebec River in 1989. The shipyard is expected to turn the destroyer over to the Navy this week.
"We've overcome lots of obstacles to get to this point," said electrician John Upham, of Litchfield. "I think everybody in the shipyard is proud of the work we've done."
The ship features an angular shape that makes it 50 times more difficult to detect on radar; it's powered by electricity produced by turbines similar to those in a Boeing 777; new guns are designed to pummel targets from nearly 100 miles away. Advanced automation will allow the big ship to operate with a much smaller crew than on current generation of destroyers.
The final cost of the Zumwalt is expected to be at least $4.4 billion.
The original concept for the land-attack destroyer was floated more than 15 years ago then underwent several permutations. The final design called for a destroyer with a stealthy shape and advanced gun system that can fire rocket-propelled projectiles with pinpoint accuracy.
But the growing cost forced the Navy to reduce what was originally envisioned as a 32-ship program to just three ships. The loss of economies of scale drove up the cost of the individual ships.
(Excerpt) Read more at bigstory.ap.org ...
Shades of “Holy WWI battleship bow design,” Batman!
Since the USS Enterprise (CVN-65) was decommissioned in 2013, and the USS Enterprise (CVN-80) is cheduled to be constructed and in operation by 2025, he has to have some command, somewhere.
So when they take 50% casualties, what?
Nazi tanks vs. Soviet tanks. The Nazis had the quality, the Soviets had the quantity. We all know how that turned out.
As the Russians say: Quantity has a “quality” all its own.
CC
Don’t be too proud of this technological terror you’ve constructed. The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Force.
Actually, in the T-34, the Soviets had quantity, quality, and reliability.
Agreed!
Engineering Officer Scotty?
Pretty cool, but I can go one better. I had a classmate whose name was James Kirk, and he was a career pilot for Delta. I bet there were some interesting reactions from the passengers when he came on the intercom.
Yup, that’s why the massive power capabilities.
Title is misleading. The USS Zumwalt is not the Navy's largest warship.
You know the crew is going to be teased.
My understanding is that the hull design is one discarded centuries ago because it is prone to floundering in heavy seas. Haven’t seen a picture yet of heavy sea trials for the Zumwalt.
Russians also had a lot of quality tanks. Before Hitler turned on the Russians there were very high level military contacts and information sharing. The Russians were convinced the Germans were hiding their best designs, because the Russians already better models in production.
Germans held the edge in optics and wireless, but in many facets the Russians held the edge through the war (mobility, protection, durability).
Back to the topic. The USMIC has ripped off Americans for decades. I don’t expect a change anytime soon.
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