DDG-1000 News

[jlvfr]

I wonder what the Belfast's volunteers thought about having a pleasure palace being tied along side?

"Load HE! Aim!" :D

Also note the "toy garage" is open at the waterline.

Also saw the other one open, but was too far to ID what was inside...

Does the DDG1000 have such garages? Looks like a good way to store small boats without loosing stealth...

[surfgun]

Sort of:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VYaNS8WcNVY

[SteveDaPirate]

Hopefully, it has a hidden garage for RHIB's and jet ski's. It disappoints in a lack of a helipad, and large water features, such as an infinity pool or large hot tub for one's favorite group of cheerleaders or dancers to frolic in.

It's plenty plush, and even includes a hidden "nookie" room. I actually kind of like the hull design. When you see it driving in the video there is almost no wake at all.

[Albany Rifles]

Found these pics of the Zumwalt.

http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone...alth-destroyer

[surfgun]

Zumwalt arrives at Norfolk.

https://www.navytimes.com/articles/s...-commissioning

[ChrisV71]

It's not just the LCS's apparently...

Next-Generation Destroyer Zumwalt Sidelined for Repairs After Engineering Casualty

By: Sam LaGrone
September 20, 2016 12:37 PM

Less than a month ahead of its commissioning, the Navy’s next-generation destroyer Zumwalt (DDG-1000) suffered an engineering casualty that could take up to two weeks to repair, Navy officials confirmed to USNI News on Tuesday.
The ship’s crew – currently pier side at Naval Station Norfolk, Va. – found the fault in the ship’s engineering plant on Sept. 19 ahead of at-sea tests. Zumwalt is now undergoing repairs that may take anywhere from 10 days to two weeks.

“The crew discovered the casualty after detecting a seawater leak in the propulsion motor drive lube oil auxiliary system for one of the ship’s shafts. The built-in redundancy of the ship’s propulsion plant allows this first-in-class ship to operate with multiple engine configurations. However, it was determined that the repairs should be completed in port prior to the ship transiting to sea,” U.S. Naval Surface Forces said in a statement to USNI News.
“Zumwalt will conduct the repairs at Naval Station Norfolk prior to getting underway for training and certification operations.”

The 16,000-ton destroyer named for former Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Elmo Zumwalt is set to commission in Baltimore, Md., on Oct. 15. A Navy official told USNI News the repairs would not affect the commissioning schedule.

The ship is based around twin 155mm Advanced Gun Systems that can fire GPS-guided rocket-propelled shells more than 60 miles to hit land targets.

In addition to the gun systems, a key feature of the ship is its complex integrated power system (IPS) that uses the ship’s gas turbine output to power an electrical grid rather than a direct mechanical connection to the propulsion system.

Testing the extensive electrical system resulted in extended delays in delivery of the ship from shipbuilder General Dynamics Bath Iron Works.

Following commissioning, the ship was due to transit to its new homeport at Naval Station San Diego, Calif., and undergo a combat system activation period ahead of joining the fleet in earnest in 2018.

The class was designed, as part of a wider Pentagon push in the early 2000s, to push the technological envelope. The class of more than 30 was trimmed to three to save costs.

Zumwalt is the first of the trio in the $22-billion class. Michael Moonsor (DDG-1001) and Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG-1002) are currently under construction at BIW.

The following is the complete Sept. 20, 2016, statement from the Navy on the engineering casualty Zumwalt suffered.

USS Zumwalt to conduct repairs at Naval Station Norfolk
Commander, Naval Surface Forces, U.S. Pacific

On Sept. 19, the future guided-missile destroyer USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) experienced an engineering casualty during preparations to get underway from Naval Station Norfolk.

The ship will remain in Norfolk to conduct an assessment of the casualty and complete repairs.

The crew discovered the casualty after detecting a seawater leak in the propulsion motor drive lube oil auxiliary system for one of the ship’s shafts.

The built-in redundancy of the ship’s propulsion plant allows this first-in-class ship to operate with multiple engine configurations. However, it was determined that the repairs should be completed in port prior to the ship transiting to sea.

Repairs like these are not unusual in first-of-class ships during underway periods following construction. Zumwalt will conduct the repairs at Naval Station Norfolk prior to getting underway for training and certification operations.

https://news.usni.org/2016/09/20/21690

[bfng3569]

pretty damning article by Tyler Rogueway on the program as a whole in regards to mismanagement and the planned capabilities that were cut out.

http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone...ionable-future

some snippets.... its rather lengthy.



Old Mistakes Die Hard- The Zumwalt class lacks a close-in air defense weapon system:

The Zumwalt’s area air defense and ballistic missile defense capabilities were thrown overboard long ago:

Bad decisions neutered the Zumwalt class, but a study with questionable conclusions doomed it:

Ongoing design sacrifices: While details about the specific nature of Zumwalt’s various signatures are classified, it’s clear that when it comes to radar visibility, the ship has devolved considerably over the years. What was once a very stealthy design has been the victim of a never ending list of compromises. In recent years these compromises have become almost comically absurd, and now it seems that the Navy is willing to bolt anything onto the class in order to save money.

First off, USS Lyndon B Johnson (DDG-1002), the final ship in the tiny class, will not feature the stealthy composite deckhouse that is such a key feature on the baseline DDG-1000 design. Instead it will be made out of steel. This not only has the potential to drastically increase the ship’s radar signature, it will also greatly increase weight exactly where you don’t want it on a ship (high up) that already faces questions about its stability. The Navy says that, even with these design changes, the ship’s weight distribution and radar signature is “acceptable.” Exactly what that means is unclear.

Enjoy the Zumwalt’s clean lines now because they are about to change significantly. In a race to save money, the Navy has decided not to embed a bunch of sensors and communications infrastructure into the ship’s slab-sided deckhouse. Instead they will be bolted on as if they were an afterthought, making a $4B+ stealth ship, well, less stealthy to say the least.

[tbm3fan]

Hmm, the Midway was considered acceptable after her botched modernization. So maybe along those lines of acceptable?

Maybe the Navy could put some fake wood vinyl siding along the hull of the ship. Make her look like a log floating in the water rather than a ship. At worst a station wagon.

[citanon]

Tyler Rogoway knows as much about Naval architecture now as he does about aerial combat with the F35. The guy is a good writer and a good source of raw information but not a good source for insights and understanding.

[bfng3569]

Tyler Rogoway knows as much about Naval architecture now as he does about aerial combat with the F35. The guy is a good writer and a good source of raw information but not a good source for insights and understanding.

Yes, I get it, you don't seem to like his take on certain things.

Regardless of that, he points out a lot of things that were 'compromised' on that resulted in a what appears to be a serious reduction in the 'what could have been' category.


I'm really curious how a ship that size actually has less vsl tubes than smaller vessel's. (And I assume the twin guns have a big factor in that, but honestly I have no idea)

[surfgun]

Big 'Z' Rum

http://usszumwalt.org/big-z-rum/

[surfgun]

Posted: October 13, 2016 5:00 PM

Navy’s New Destroyer Zumwalt Rides ‘Like a Souped-up SUV’

By RICHARD R. BURGESS, Managing Editor

BALTIMORE — The Navy’s newest warship looks like none that have gone before, a massive 15,000-ton guided-missile destroyer (DDG) that is larger than some World War II cruisers. Although its exterior reflects striking design differences with older warships, many of its power, mission and control systems also are departures from the ways of the past.

The Navy showed off its newest class of ship, the Zumwalt-class guided-missile destroyer (DDG 1000) to reporters Oct. 13, two days before its commissioning ceremonies in Baltimore. Zumwalt, named for the late former Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Elmo “Bud” Zumwalt, arrived in Baltimore earlier this week for the city’s Fleet Week celebration and berthed alongside an Arleigh Burke-class DDG and a Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser, which provided contrasts to the sleek, smooth lines of Zumwalt’s tumblehome hull and low-radar cross-section.

Zumwalt, built by General Dynamics’ Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine, is armed with two 155mm Advanced Gun Systems, two Mk46 30mm guns, Standard and Evolved Sea Sparrow surface-to-air missiles, Tomahawk cruise missiles, vertical-launch anti-submarine rockets and several .50-caliber M2 machine guns. The ship can carry two MH-60R Seahawk helicopters as well as MQ-8 Fire Scout unmanned aerial vehicles.

Capt. James Kirk, the commanding officer of the ship’s crew, which is called a pre-commissioning unit until commissioning, said Zumwalt rides “marvelously” through the waves, describing its ride as feeling “like a souped-up sport utility vehicle [SUV].”

Lt. Cmdr. Nate Chase, the ship’s chief engineer with experience in Arleigh Burke-class DDGs, agreed, saying the ship rides “exponentially better” than an Arleigh Burke. He recalled that during one sortie from the shipyard some shipyard workers onboard asked when the ship was getting underway when it had left port 45 minutes earlier.

“This ship blows the Burke out of the water,” Chase said of the new ship.

Chase also praised the stealth characteristics of Zumwalt, with its small radar cross-section (RCS), which he said was 1/50th that of an Arleigh Burke. Zumwalt’s hull is partially coated with radar-absorbent tiles.

Chase noted that during the ship’s rescue of a fisherman in December, a Coast Guard cutter had difficulty rendezvousing with the destroyer because of Zumwalt’s low RCS. The ship can mount removable radar reflectors so that other ships can be aware of its presence when necessary.

Chase also noted the ship’s electrical power generation capability, 78 megawatts versus nine for an Arleigh Burke. The ship’s integrated power system allows the crew to shift power to systems as needed based on mission priorities.

Zumwalt’s 147-Sailor crew is half the size of that of an Arleigh Burke, and as such needs the help of advanced technology to carry the load. The ship is equipped with the Total Ship Computing Environment, designed by Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems, which integrates all of the ship’s mission and engineering systems.

The bridge is manned only by three watchstanders: an officer of the deck, a junior officer of the deck and a junior officer of the watch. The latter two sit at computer consoles from which they control the navigation of the ship, and are surrounded by large-screen displays that give them situational awareness from a set of electro-optical cameras. The bridge console features a traditional set of throttles that are reserved for “tertiary” use if needed. The bridge has no traditional wheel for a helmsman, with simple cookie-size control dials as back-up controls for the electrical steering system.

Although the ship is equipped with a traditional brass bell, the quarterdeck uses a .wav file on an electric sound system to announce the arrival and departure of the captain or other dignitaries.

The combat information center is called a Ship’s Mission Center on Zumwalt. One unusual feature is the stationing of the engineering officer of the watch in the center. Chase said this blending of engineering and operations personnel in the same space “sparks a cross-talk between the rates.”

Chase said the small size of the crew makes it a “pretty close family.”

The ship also features a boat bay that can launch two 11-meter or three 7-meter rigid-hull inflatable boats out of a stern ramp. The boats can be loaded in the bay and the boat cradles can be lifted and tilted to slide the boats out of the stern. The two 11-meter boats currently o board are named “Russell” and “Elmo” in honor of Zumwalt’s son and grandson, respectfully.

Zumwalt is designed for crew comfort and relative privacy. All personnel live in two- or four-person staterooms with heads, rather than the large berthing compartments of older ships, Chase said. The ship’s galley prepares meals for all ranks, a departure from the different messes for officers, chiefs, and enlisted personnel.

After commissioning, Zumwalt will conduct tests off the U.S. East Coast before its transit to its hom port of San Diego, where it will have the rest of its mission systems installed and tested before the ship works up for its first deployment, Kirk said. The ship currently is fitted with a commercial navigation radar to enable it to safely operate before it receives some of its mission systems. The crew is busy writing the manuals that will govern the ship’s operation as it becomes familiar with the ship’s technology.
http://seapowermagazine.org/stories/...3-zumwalt.html

[SteveDaPirate]

"This destroyer, like the others in our fleet, is capable of projecting power, no doubt," said Mabus. "The Zumwalt-class is much larger than today's destroyers with a considerably larger flight deck - enough space to operate host Joint Strike Fighters, MV-22 Ospreys, and unmanned systems and a Vertical Launch System second to none."

http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=97195

This is the first time I've heard anyone mention operating the F-35 from a DDG-1000, and I'd normally just assume someone misspoke after such a claim, but coming from the Secnav...?

[surfgun]

Here is video from the Baltimore CBS station.

http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2016/1...ld-be-zumwalt/

[surfgun]

Hi-res USN photo of Zumwalt with F-35.

http://www.navy.mil/management/photo...-VT045-001.JPG