December 7, 2015
Brand New US Navy Destroyer Launched For Trials From Maine
The ship has electric propulsion, new radar and sonar, powerful missiles and guns, and a stealthy design to reduce its radar signature.
[From article]
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 in Maine 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.
[. . .]
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.
Advanced automation will allow the warship to operate with a much smaller crew size than current destroyers.
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.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3349443/Largest-destroyer-built-Navy-headed-sea-testing.html
US Navy's largest ever 'stealth' destroyer heads out to sea on its maiden voyage
The USS Zumwalt launched from Bath Iron Works in Maine on Monday morning
The 600-foot-long destroyer cruised along the Kennebec River to the Atlantic on its first voyage
The ship, which weighs 15,000 tons, has taken four years to build at an estimated cost of $4.3 billion
Engineers will test the computer and power systems aboard the Navy's first 'all-electric' warship
The unique angular design is intended to fool radars into classing it as a fishing vessel
By ASSOCIATED PRESS REPORTER
Daily Mail (UK)
PUBLISHED: 11:12 EST, 7 December 2015 | UPDATED: 16:36 EST, 7 December 2015
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