Wednesday, December 09, 2015 1:01:54 PM
Oh, yeah! World’s largest destroyer sets sail
DECEMBER 8, 2015
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it’s more massive and technologically advanced than anything the world has ever seen.
Meet the new Zumwalt class destroyer. It’s goal is to extend America’s unchallenged naval dominance around the globe. And it has enough firepower to send a clear message to the enemies of freedom: Watch out.
The first Zumwalt-class destroyer, the largest ever built for the U.S. Navy, heads down the Kennebec River after leaving Bath Iron Works, Monday, Dec. 7, 2015, in Bath, Maine. The ship is headed out to sea for the first time to undergo sea trials.(AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
(AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
The largest destroyer ever built for the U.S. Navy headed out to sea for the first time Monday, departing from shipbuilder Bath Iron Works and carefully navigating the winding Kennebec River before reaching the open ocean where the ship will undergo sea trials.
More than 200 shipbuilders, sailors and residents gathered to watch as the futuristic 600-foot, 15,000-ton USS Zumwalt glided past Fort Popham, accompanied by tugboats.
Kelley Campana, a Bath Iron Works employee, said she had goose bumps and tears in her eyes.
“This is pretty exciting. It’s a great day to be a shipbuilder and to be an American,” she said. “It’s the first in its class. There’s never been anything like it. It looks like the future.”
Larry Harris, a retired Raytheon employee who worked on the ship, watched it depart from Bath.
“It’s as cool as can be. It’s nice to see it underway,” he said. “Hopefully, it will perform as advertised.”
Bath Iron Works will be testing the ship’s performance and making tweaks this winter. The goal is to deliver it to the Navy sometime next year.
“We are absolutely fired up to see Zumwalt get underway. For the crew and all those involved in designing, building, and readying this fantastic ship, this is a huge milestone,” the ship’s skipper, Navy Capt. James Kirk, said before the ship departed.
The ship has electric propulsion, new radar and sonar, powerful missiles and guns, and a stealthy design to reduce its radar signature. Analysts say the ship is so stealthy, it appears on radar no bigger than a small fishing boat.
Advanced automation will allow the warship to operate with a much smaller crew size than current destroyers. It is equipped with both anti-naval and anti-aircraft capabilities, but it’s primary mission is to reach out and destroy enemy ground forces.
All of that innovation has led to construction delays and a growing price tag. The Zumwalt, the first of three ships in the class, will cost at least $4.4 billion.
The ship looks like nothing ever built at Bath Iron Works.
The inverse bow juts forward to slice through the waves. Sharp angles deflect enemy radar signals. Radar and antennas are hidden in a composite deckhouse.
The builder sea trials will answer any questions of seaworthiness for a ship that utilizes a type of hull associated with pre-dreadnought battleships from a century ago.
DECEMBER 8, 2015
[-chart]thehornnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Destroyer-280x175.jpg[/chart]
[-chart]thehornnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/destroyer1.jpg[/chart]
[-chart]thehornnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Destroyer-2.jpg[/chart]
it’s more massive and technologically advanced than anything the world has ever seen.
Meet the new Zumwalt class destroyer. It’s goal is to extend America’s unchallenged naval dominance around the globe. And it has enough firepower to send a clear message to the enemies of freedom: Watch out.
The first Zumwalt-class destroyer, the largest ever built for the U.S. Navy, heads down the Kennebec River after leaving Bath Iron Works, Monday, Dec. 7, 2015, in Bath, Maine. The ship is headed out to sea for the first time to undergo sea trials.(AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
(AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
The largest destroyer ever built for the U.S. Navy headed out to sea for the first time Monday, departing from shipbuilder Bath Iron Works and carefully navigating the winding Kennebec River before reaching the open ocean where the ship will undergo sea trials.
More than 200 shipbuilders, sailors and residents gathered to watch as the futuristic 600-foot, 15,000-ton USS Zumwalt glided past Fort Popham, accompanied by tugboats.
Kelley Campana, a Bath Iron Works employee, said she had goose bumps and tears in her eyes.
“This is pretty exciting. It’s a great day to be a shipbuilder and to be an American,” she said. “It’s the first in its class. There’s never been anything like it. It looks like the future.”
Larry Harris, a retired Raytheon employee who worked on the ship, watched it depart from Bath.
“It’s as cool as can be. It’s nice to see it underway,” he said. “Hopefully, it will perform as advertised.”
Bath Iron Works will be testing the ship’s performance and making tweaks this winter. The goal is to deliver it to the Navy sometime next year.
“We are absolutely fired up to see Zumwalt get underway. For the crew and all those involved in designing, building, and readying this fantastic ship, this is a huge milestone,” the ship’s skipper, Navy Capt. James Kirk, said before the ship departed.
The ship has electric propulsion, new radar and sonar, powerful missiles and guns, and a stealthy design to reduce its radar signature. Analysts say the ship is so stealthy, it appears on radar no bigger than a small fishing boat.
Advanced automation will allow the warship to operate with a much smaller crew size than current destroyers. It is equipped with both anti-naval and anti-aircraft capabilities, but it’s primary mission is to reach out and destroy enemy ground forces.
All of that innovation has led to construction delays and a growing price tag. The Zumwalt, the first of three ships in the class, will cost at least $4.4 billion.
The ship looks like nothing ever built at Bath Iron Works.
The inverse bow juts forward to slice through the waves. Sharp angles deflect enemy radar signals. Radar and antennas are hidden in a composite deckhouse.
The builder sea trials will answer any questions of seaworthiness for a ship that utilizes a type of hull associated with pre-dreadnought battleships from a century ago.
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