US Navy DDG 1000 Zumwalt Class

Jura said:

by Zumwalts' shape?? (as far as I know, the first "stealth-shaped" class was the La Fayette, mid 1990s)

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TerraN_EmpirE said:

The next class of combatants. Already influences are visible in ships across the world.

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TerraN_EmpirE said:

Also look at the Independents class above the waterline a very close look.
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Raytheon Company, the mission-systems equipment integrator for the DDG 1000 Zumwalt-class destroyer program, has updated the status of their works as the ships progress toward delivery.

USS Zumwalt, or DDG 1000, the nation’s first Zumwalt destroyer set sail for the first time on December 7, 2015 for initial sea trials. You can watch the video of the ship’s first sail

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According to Raytheon, the systems that the company developed performed well during DDG 1000’s Alpha Trials, which is a week-long, at-sea exercise that demonstrated key ship capabilities, including the Total Ship Computing Environment and engineering control systems.

TSCE provides all shipboard computing applications, including the combat management system; command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence elements; ship and machinery control systems; damage control; embedded training; and support system.

Raytheon provides electronic and combat systems for the three-ship class with recent program milestones advancing critical mission systems of the Zumwalt class.

Raytheon’s onsite Ship Integration and Test team continues to work in close collaboration with the Navy and the shipyard, supporting ongoing installation, integration and testing in line with construction progress. DDG 1001’s program accomplishments include activation of TSCE-driven engineering controls and data center which support the Hull, Mechanical & Electrical phase of the program.

The integrated system was tested during sea trials, demonstrating more than 200 continuous hours of operation. Navigation and bridge activation is also complete.

More than 330 hours of training have been completed with the sailors of the DDG 1000 Pre-Commissioning crew, covering ship control system, TSCE operation, the integrated ship plan, combat systems overview and the fundamentals of the ship mission center.

DDG 1001 has had initial equipment installed while equipment deliveries continue in synch with ship installation and integration schedule.

When it comes to DDG 1002, Raytheon was awarded a $255 million contract modification for remaining mission systems equipment for the third ship of the class on December 31, 2015.

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Development of a futuristic weapon depicted in video games and science fiction is going well enough that a Navy admiral wants to skip an at-sea prototype in favor of installing an operational unit aboard a destroyer planned to go into service in 2018.

The Navy has been testing an electromagnetic railgun and could have an operational unit ready to go on one of the new Zumwalt-class destroyers under construction at Bath Iron Works.

Adm. Pete Fanta, the Navy's director of surface warfare, has floated the idea of foregoing the current plan to put a prototype on another vessel this year and instead put it directly on future USS Lyndon B. Johnson, though no final decision has been made.

"The Zumwalt-class is one of a number of options being explored for the electromagnetic railgun," said Lt. Cmdr. Hayley Sims, a Navy spokeswoman. "Due to the size, weight and power requirements, some platforms will be better suited for the technology than others."

Railguns use electricity instead of gunpowder to accelerate a projectile at six or seven times the speed of sound — creating enough kinetic energy to destroy targets.

It's literal whiz-bang technology that holds the possibility of providing an effective weapon at pennies on the dollars compared to smart bombs and missiles.

There has been talk since the inception of the Zumwalt program that the massive destroyers would be a likely candidate for the weapon because of its power plant. The USS Johnson will be the third and final destroyer in the Zumwalt class.

The 600-foot-long warship uses marine turbines similar to those that propel the Boeing 777 to help produce up to 78 megawatts of electricity for use in propulsion, weapons and sensors. That's more than enough juice for the railgun.

If it's placed on the warship, the system could replace one of the forward turrets housing a 155mm gun that fires rocket-propelled projectiles.

For now, however, the official plan remains for the railgun prototype to be tested aboard a joint high speed vessel this year. But there are concerns that the plan may be pushed back into 2017, and Fanta suggested skipping it altogether.

The railgun, along with laser weaponry, are two futuristic technologies that Fanta said have evolved from being a matter of scientific research to one of practical engineering.

The Navy is interested in those weapons — along with smart munitions that can improve existing naval guns — because of their low cost as well as lethality.

"The Navy is determined to increase the offensive punch of the surface warships," said Loren Thompson, a defense analyst at the Lexington Institute. "To do that with a limited budget, it needs to look at everything from smart munitions to railguns to lasers."

The railgun discussion isn't widely known inside the shipyard.

Bath Iron Works, a subsidiary of General Dynamics, had no comment.

Shipbuilder Charles Davis said there was talk of a railgun when the yard began work on the first ship in the class, but he said there's been no discussion since then.

"They've been pretty tight-lipped about it," he said.

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Jura said:

I put one part in boldface:
Navy considers railgun for a Zumwalt-class destroyer

source:

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Equation said:

Dang it...you beat me to the posting that piece of news!

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Jura said:

it must by about 17 hours bro

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Jura said:

it must by about 17 hours bro

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The technologically-advanced destroyer Zumwalt underwent propulsion repair work in mid-January, the US Navy confirmed Tuesday.

“The ship's hull was cut above the water line to enable the most effective means of conducting repair work on one of 12 propulsion motor drives,” said Capt. Thurraya Kent, spokesperson for the Navy’s acquisition directorate.

Kent couldn’t say precisely what the problem was, but she and other officials stressed that hull cuts are relatively routine to gain access to significant internal systems.

“The work took place in the weeks following initial trials and was done in parallel with the activation of propulsion systems,” Kent added. “The overall impact to the propulsion system was minor.”

The Zumwalt is in the final stages of fitting out at the General Dynamics Bath Iron Works shipyard in Bath, Maine. The 610-foot-long ship, first of a three-ship class, features an unusual tumblehome hull form to enhance stealth qualities, and is powered by an integrated electrical propulsion system driven by gas turbines and advanced induction motors.

The ship went to sea for the first time on Dec. 7 to conduct initial builder’s sea trials, and operated along the Maine coast for nearly a week before returning to Bath on Dec. 13. A second round of sea trials was tentatively scheduled for late February, but the Zumwalt has not been back to sea since the first round.

Results of those first sea trials, Navy officials have said, were generally positive.

The Zumwalt “successfully completed her first at-sea trials in December and is readying to return to sea next month,” Sean Stackley, the Navy’s top acquisition official, told Congress on Feb. 25.

“The ship is progressing well and is on track to complete trials and delivery later this spring,” Kent said Tuesday.

At least one more round of builder’s trials is expected before the Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey comes aboard to carry out acceptance trials. Should those prove successful, the Navy will take ownership of the destroyer. A formal commissioning ceremony at Baltimore, Maryland will then take place before the ship heads west to her permanent home port of San Diego, California.

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