USN Zumwalt Launched

[tomahawk6]

Slow news day T6?

Article is 18 months old. There's already a thread when the actual event occurred here:

http://milnet.ca/forums/threads/111589.0.html

Might as well put Mondays date on it. ;D

 

[tomahawk6]

Now the USN has a quandry it needs new ships but has a limited budget,so the Zumwalt class may be a class of two because of its extreme cost.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3234869/Pentagon-SCRAP-3-5-billion-state-art-warship-tipped-transform-Navy-fleet-despite-having-built-half-it.html

Pentagon may SCRAP $3.5 billion state-of-the-art warship that was tipped to transform US Navy fleet (...despite having already built half of it)
USS Lyndon B Johnson is the third and final Zumwalt-class destroyer
It is 41% complete but may be scrapped as US Navy writes 2017 budget
However, lawmakers rejected Navy's bid in 2009 to just make two ships 
All three multimission ships designed to propel missiles up to 100 miles

 

[tomahawk6]

Add to the USN's problems are low selection rates for Aviators being selected for Lt Commander.The pendulem swings both ways.This time it favors surface officers maybe it goes the other way next time.I think the reality is that just as in the USAF there are going to be fewer aircraft to pilot,of course there will be fewer ships in the fleet but the demand for middle managers remain.

http://www.navytimes.com/story/military/careers/navy/officer/2015/09/19/aviators-look-changes-boost-o-4-promotion-rate/32515917/

 

[tomahawk6]

The Zumwalt will begin sea trials and hopefully the deisgn works well.Its definitely the most expensive destroyer ever built for the USN.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/largest-destroyer-built-navy-headed-sea-testing-144549669.html#

 

[PuckChaser]

The Zumwalt will begin sea trials and hopefully the deisgn works well.Its definitely the most expensive destroyer ever built for the USN.

They haven't seen us try to build a destroyer yet. $4.4B is nothing.

 

[tomahawk6]

They haven't seen us try to build a destroyer yet. $4.4B is nothing.

Surely your comment is in jest ? I know that R & D costs are part of the equation but you could buy a Nimitz class CV for $5-6b.The new Ford class carrier is around $10b.

 

[Scoobie Newbie]

Not made in Canada. 

 

[PuckChaser]

Surely your comment is in jest ? I know that R & D costs are part of the equation but you could buy a Nimitz class CV for $5-6b.The new Ford class carrier is around $10b.

They're saying our CSC (A destroyer variant) is over $3B CAD and we don't even have a firm design or contract signed yet.

 

[tomahawk6]

They're saying our CSC (A destroyer variant) is over $3B CAD and we don't even have a firm design or contract signed yet.

Shocking way to spend tax payer money.Of course no one spends as poorly as the US.

 

[cupper]

T-6 isn't accounting for the exchange rate though.

We have to work harder to achieve the same waste that you Americans have because the Canadian Dollar is running 70% to 75% of your good old greenbacks. [

 

[CougarKing]

Zumwalt runs "an EMS call" :

Naval Today

USS Zumwalt already paying off

The U.S. Navy’s new stealth destroyer, USS Zumwalt, interrupted its sea trials to assist the U.S Coast Guard and their MH-60 helicopter in evacuating a man 40 nautical miles southeast of Portland, USA, on December 12.

At approximately 3 a.m Saturday, Coast Guard Sector Northern New England watchstanders received a call from the 45-foot fishing boat Danny Boy stating the captain was experiencing chest pains and needed medical assistance.

A MH-60 Jayhawk from Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod was launched to medevac the patient. However, once on scene, the aircrew determined the hoist too dangerous due to the configuration of Danny Boy’s deck.

Sector Northern New England issued an urgent marine information broadcast requesting assistance from nearby vessels.

The Zumwalt was conducting sea trials offshore and offered assistance. Zumwalt launched a small boat crew and transferred the injured captain to the destroyer. From there, the Coast Guard air crew successfully hoisted the man and transported him to the Portland Jetport where awaiting EMS took him to Maine Medical Center for further medical care.

 

[cupper]

Bet he never saw that coming.  [

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Oh behave!!  [

 

[Oldgateboatdriver]

Pretty confusing title for us seaman, until l you read the article: Paying off a warship means retiring the ship - taking it out of commission. For a moment, I thought they were going to decommission her before ever even taking her into service  ;D.

 

[CougarKing]

Propulsion problems...

Defense News

Repairs Made to New Destroyer Zumwalt
Christopher P. Cavas, Defense News 12:46 a.m. EST March 2, 2016


WASHINGTON The technologically-advanced destroyer Zumwalt underwent propulsion repair work in mid-January, the US Navy confirmed Tuesday.

“The ship's hull was cut above the water line to enable the most effective means of conducting repair work on one of 12 propulsion motor drives,” said Capt. Thurraya Kent, spokesperson for the Navy’s acquisition directorate.

Kent couldn’t say precisely what the problem was, but she and other officials stressed that hull cuts are relatively routine to gain access to significant internal systems.

(...SNIPPED)

 

[jollyjacktar]

Zumwalt is apparently too stealthy, will need to have radar reflectors added.  Plenty of good photos at story link.

Zumwalt story

 

[cupper]

Well, I didn't see that coming. [

 

[CBH99]

Ha! 

 

[Sub_Guy]

I'd like to see how it paints on our (CP-140M) radar...

 

[CougarKing]

Major update: Btw, wasn't the plankowner captain of this ship actually called Captain James Kirk? Did his crew ever joke "Klingon bird of prey decloaking on the port bow!"?  ;D

Defense News

US Navy Takes Ownership of Stealth Destroyer Zumwalt
Christopher P. Cavas, Defense News 1:38 p.m. EDT May 20, 2016


WASHINGTON Shipbuilder General Dynamics Bath Iron Works formally delivered the stealth destroyer Zumwalt (DDG 1000) to the US Navy Friday, marking a turnover of ownership from the ship’s status as a private vessel to become a government-owned warship.

“Today represents a significant achievement for not only the DDG 1000 program and shipbuilding team but for the entire US Navy,” Capt. Jim Downey, the Zumwalt-class program manager at Naval Sea Systems Command, said in a statement. “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.”

Delivery represents a major milestone in the design and development of the ships, conceived in the late 1990s as the epitome of stealth in warship design. At various times the Navy envisioned 32 ships in the class, then 28, then seven, then two, and back up to three – the class size of today.

(...SNIPPED)