Tag Archives: DDG-1000

Love Boat shows teeth

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Sigh…

There is really no way to sugar coat it, the USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) has been a pear-shaped embarrassment in terms of naval acquisition, making the LCS and Ford programs look squared away by comparison.

Awarded in 2008, DDG-1000 took eight years to complete, which is kinda shocking for a “destroyer” but of course isn’t when you keep in mind it is actually 14,800-tons, pushing into the size envelope of a WWII-era Baltimore-class heavy cruiser, making them the largest non-carrier surface asset constructed for the Navy since the 15,500-ton nuclear-powered USS Long Beach (CGN-9) commissioned in 1961.

The Zumwalts were to showcase two new weapons platforms, namely the 155 mm Advanced Gun System– which likely will never be operational in practice– and the MK 57 VLS, which uses four-cell missile packs spread along the peripheral edges of the vessel instead of the more traditional 8-cell VLS modules bunched fore and aft.

Mk-57 Peripheral Vertical Launching System (VLS), for now, unique to the Zumwalt-class destroyers

At least it looks like the MK 57 is (almost) up and running, with a test launch of an SM-2 at Point Mugu, on 13 October– notably just 72 hours short of the $4.4B Zumwalt’s 4th commissioning anniversary.

“Today’s successful firing event is a critical milestone in the maturation of this incredible ship class and represents the culmination of a tremendous amount of hard work and partnership of Zumwalt’s talented crew and the engineers, designers, and programmers helping us to bring her capabilities to the Fleet,” said Capt. Gary Cave, Zumwalt’s commanding officer. “It is a day we’ve been looking forward to and demonstrates the strides we are taking to add combat capability to our surface force.”

eSailor, swag berthing on Zumwalt class, and new Marine cammies

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So it looks like Mabus is really pushing new programs before he leaves his office as SECNAV. I have to admit, some look pretty interesting.

The new eSailor initiative is supposed to put tablets and cell phones in the hands of bluejackets down at the recruit level and up, hoping to supe up the force IT wise. Of course, there are going to be intranet issues, ITSC issues, and further electrical demands on assets, but it’s still kinda neat.

Speaking of electrical demands on assets, check out these berths on the DDG-1000 class. Four words: “our own private heads”

On the bright side, the Marines are testing new lightweight tropical boots and full digital MARPAT green cammies

A blend of 19th and 21 Centuries

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The brand-spanking new destroyer USS Zumwald (DDG-1000) sailing by Fort Popham at the mouth of the Kennebec river in Maine, on it’s way to sea trials. All images by Ed Rice.

Destroyer USS Zumwald sailing by Fort Popham at the mouth of the Kennebec river, on it's way to sea trials. Images by Ed Rice 4 Destroyer USS Zumwald sailing by Fort Popham at the mouth of the Kennebec river, on it's way to sea trials. Images by Ed Rice 3 Destroyer USS Zumwald sailing by Fort Popham at the mouth of the Kennebec river, on it's way to sea trials. Images by Ed Rice 2 Destroyer USS Zumwald sailing by Fort Popham at the mouth of the Kennebec river, on it's way to sea trials. Images by Ed Rice
If you are curious, Fort Popham dates back to the 1850s when the granite block coastal defense post was constructed over what was an old  American Revolution and later War of 1812-era battery. Named for Popham colony leader George Popham, the Fort was armed in time for the Civil War (though never fully completed) and mounted 36 Rodman guns and some 10-inch Parrott rifles arranged in two tiers of vaulted casemates.

In latter part of the 19th Century these were replaced by some 15-inch Rodman “shipkillers” and a single 8-inch M1888 breechloader and the fort was maintained through the early 1900s when it was placed into caretaker status with the construction of more modern nearby Fort Baldwin (who in turn mounted 3x 6-inch M1900/M1905 guns and 2x 3-inch M1903s for use against minesweepers for her locally planted fields; later replaced by four 155 mm M1918 guns on Panama Mounts in WWII).

Both Baldwin and Popham were fully decommissioned by the Army by 1949 and turned over to the state of Maine who maintains them as historic sites.

All Your Zumwalt Are Belong to Us says China

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The Washington Times reports that the new gee whiz Zumwalt class (still on the drawing board) of 14,000-ton destroyers (the same size as 1912 era Battleships and even uses the same hull-design!) are vulnerable to the PLAN.

“The Navy’s next-generation warship, the 15,000-ton Zumwalt-class destroyer, is no good and can be destroyed by Chinese fishing boats armed with explosives, according to a leading Chinese military commentator, People’s Liberation Army Rear Adm. Zhang Zhaozhong.

Adm. Zhang made the remarks April 30 during a nationwide broadcast of “Defense Review Weekly,” a program on state-run China Central TV. The admiral has been the station’s chief military commentator since 1998.

Zumwalt-class destroyers are one of the Navy’s newest, most-advanced and most-expensive vessels. They have a rich history of budgetary and technological debates.

Ultimately, the destroyers survived several Washington budget cuts. Three of them are under construction at the Bath Iron Works shipyard in Maine; the lead ship, USS Elmo Zumwalt DDG-1000, named for former Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Elmo R. Zumwalt Jr., is scheduled to be completed a year from now.

The new destroyer will play a significant role in what the Navy calls its “mace weapons” that are part of the new American military strategy in the Asia-Pacific, especially China.”

Read the rest here  http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/may/2/inside-china-admiral-says-china-can-destroy-destro/?page=all#pagebreak


The Zumwalts Specs:
General characteristics
Class and type:     Zumwalt
Type:     Multi-mission destroyer, emphasis on land attack
Displacement:     14,564 long tons (14,798 t)[3]
Length:     600 ft (180 m)
Beam:     80.7 ft (24.6 m)
Draft:     27.6 ft (8.4 m)
Propulsion:     2 Rolls-Royce Marine Trent-30 gas turbines and emergency diesel generators, 78 MW (105,000 shp)
Speed:     In excess of 30 kn (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Complement:     140
Sensors and
processing systems:     AN/SPY-3 Multi-Function Radar (MFR) (X-band, scanned array)[4]
Armament:     • 20 × MK 57 VLS modules, with a total of 80 launch cells[5]
RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM), 4 per cell
Tactical Tomahawk, 1 per cell
Vertical Launch Anti-Submarine Rocket (ASROC), 1 per cell
• 2 × 155 mm Advanced Gun System
920 × 155 mm rounds total; 600 in automated store + Auxiliary store room with up to 320 rounds (non-automatic) as of April 2005
70–100 LRLAP rounds planned as of 2005 of total
• 2 × Mk 110 57 mm gun (CIGS)
Aircraft carried:     • One SH-60 LAMPS helicopter or MH-60R helicopter
• Three MQ-8 Fire Scout VT-UAVs[3]
Aviation facilities:     Flight deck and enclosed hangar for up to two medium-lift helicopters