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Lorenzo von Matterhorn
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Navy's Revamped Stealth Destroyer Looks Less Stealthy As It Leaves San Diego For Trials
Zumwalt class destroyers consistently shed capabilities as costs ballooned. Now the Navy is bolting components directly to their stealthy deckhouses.
12 Sep 2018
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zo...ss-stealthy-as-it-leaves-san-diego-for-trials
USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000) is a controversial ship, to say the least. After much fanfare among the mainstream press, the truth about the ship's watered-down design, tiny fleet size, useless deck guns, and the implications of these factors, among others, became much more clear. As we reported two years ago, in yet another cost-cutting move, the Navy decided to forego the ship's very stealth concept—which is the major reason the ships look the way they do, cost as much as they do, and have certain design tradeoffs for doing so—and bolt on communications systems and some sensors in a very unstealthy manner. These corner-cutting measures even included the addition of a rickety looking mast above the ship's deckhouse. Now we are getting our first glimpses of this disappointing configuration.
As you can see, there are EHF and UHF satellite communications systems (ball like structures) tacked onto either side of the ship's deckhouse. Atop it, towards the forward edge of the deckhouse are two Tactical Common Data Link communications systems. Between them is the new mast, and no it isn't a temporary structure. To the rear of the ship, above the hangar, we see the cupolas for the 30mm Bushmaster cannons. These were also downgraded from the far more capable 57mm guns as another late-in-the-game cost-saving move.
Zumwalt is slated to continue its combat system tests and other trials through 2021 when it will supposedly be ready for combat. Its sister ship, the USS Michael Mansoor (DDG-1001) has been undergoing initial sea trials out of Bath Iron Works in Maine, during which it had a major engine failure that required the complete replacement of one of its Rolls Royce MT30 gas turbines. The repair cost at least $20M. The MT30 is based on the Trent 800 engine found on the Boeing 777. The Zumwalt class's highly powerful hybrid powerplant is one of its most advanced and exciting features.
USS Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG-1002), the third and last ship in the tiny fleet of ships, is under construction. It will feature a heavier and more radar reflective deckhouse and hangar deck made out of steel instead of composite materials—another cost-cutting measure. The decision could impact seakeeping as well as the ship's radar signature.
A fully realized DDG-1000 could have been an amazing fighting ship. The Navy will likely realize this once they see what even the dumbed-down Zumwalt class can do. But with the Navy betting big on the far less ambitious Flight III Arleigh Burke class destroyer, there is very little chance that expanded production of the Zumwalt class will come to pass.
We'll just have to see how this all plays out. The entire program is a missed opportunity of sorts and another damning example of the paradoxical 'Pentagon death spiral.' But the Zumwalt class's decline in capability and force size has been even more extreme than other programs that experienced a similar fate, such as the B-2 Spirit.
Planned: 32
Building: 1
Completed: 2
Cancelled: 29
Active: 1
In April 2016, the Zumwalt-class Destroyer total program cost was $22.5 billion with an average cost of $7.5 billion per ship, more than half the cost of a huge Gerald R. Ford class nuclear aircraft carrier.
Compare:
Name: Gerald R. Ford–class aircraft carrier
Building: 2
Ordered: 2
Planned: 10
Completed: 1
Active: 1
Program cost: $37.30 billion (FY2018)
Unit cost: $12.998 billion (FY2018)
Zumwalt class destroyers consistently shed capabilities as costs ballooned. Now the Navy is bolting components directly to their stealthy deckhouses.
12 Sep 2018
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zo...ss-stealthy-as-it-leaves-san-diego-for-trials
USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000) is a controversial ship, to say the least. After much fanfare among the mainstream press, the truth about the ship's watered-down design, tiny fleet size, useless deck guns, and the implications of these factors, among others, became much more clear. As we reported two years ago, in yet another cost-cutting move, the Navy decided to forego the ship's very stealth concept—which is the major reason the ships look the way they do, cost as much as they do, and have certain design tradeoffs for doing so—and bolt on communications systems and some sensors in a very unstealthy manner. These corner-cutting measures even included the addition of a rickety looking mast above the ship's deckhouse. Now we are getting our first glimpses of this disappointing configuration.
As you can see, there are EHF and UHF satellite communications systems (ball like structures) tacked onto either side of the ship's deckhouse. Atop it, towards the forward edge of the deckhouse are two Tactical Common Data Link communications systems. Between them is the new mast, and no it isn't a temporary structure. To the rear of the ship, above the hangar, we see the cupolas for the 30mm Bushmaster cannons. These were also downgraded from the far more capable 57mm guns as another late-in-the-game cost-saving move.
Zumwalt is slated to continue its combat system tests and other trials through 2021 when it will supposedly be ready for combat. Its sister ship, the USS Michael Mansoor (DDG-1001) has been undergoing initial sea trials out of Bath Iron Works in Maine, during which it had a major engine failure that required the complete replacement of one of its Rolls Royce MT30 gas turbines. The repair cost at least $20M. The MT30 is based on the Trent 800 engine found on the Boeing 777. The Zumwalt class's highly powerful hybrid powerplant is one of its most advanced and exciting features.
USS Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG-1002), the third and last ship in the tiny fleet of ships, is under construction. It will feature a heavier and more radar reflective deckhouse and hangar deck made out of steel instead of composite materials—another cost-cutting measure. The decision could impact seakeeping as well as the ship's radar signature.
A fully realized DDG-1000 could have been an amazing fighting ship. The Navy will likely realize this once they see what even the dumbed-down Zumwalt class can do. But with the Navy betting big on the far less ambitious Flight III Arleigh Burke class destroyer, there is very little chance that expanded production of the Zumwalt class will come to pass.
We'll just have to see how this all plays out. The entire program is a missed opportunity of sorts and another damning example of the paradoxical 'Pentagon death spiral.' But the Zumwalt class's decline in capability and force size has been even more extreme than other programs that experienced a similar fate, such as the B-2 Spirit.
Planned: 32
Building: 1
Completed: 2
Cancelled: 29
Active: 1
In April 2016, the Zumwalt-class Destroyer total program cost was $22.5 billion with an average cost of $7.5 billion per ship, more than half the cost of a huge Gerald R. Ford class nuclear aircraft carrier.
Compare:
Name: Gerald R. Ford–class aircraft carrier
Building: 2
Ordered: 2
Planned: 10
Completed: 1
Active: 1
Program cost: $37.30 billion (FY2018)
Unit cost: $12.998 billion (FY2018)
