Problems with the complex technology being installed in the new destroyers of the Zumwalt class have forced the Navy and shipbuilder General Dynamics Bath Iron Works to delay delivery of the first two ships, the US Navy said Monday night.
The Zumwalt (DDG 1000) had been scheduled to be delivered to the Navy this summer, but that has dropped back to November. Delivery of the second ship, Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001), production of which is about a year behind the Zumwalt, has also been pushed back a few months in 2016, to November of that year.
Work on the third and last ship in the class, Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG 1002), has not been affected, and that ship is still scheduled for delivery in December 2018.
"The schedule delay is due primarily to the challenges encountered with completing installation, integration and testing of the highly unique, leading edge technology designed into this first-of-class warship," Cmdr. Thurraya Kent, spokesperson for the Navy's acquisition directorate, said in a statement.
The three ships are all under construction at GD's shipyard in Bath, Maine. The Zumwalt was launched last October and is now 94 percent complete, Kent said, and the ship is expected to begin engineering sea trials later this year. The Monsoor is scheduled for launch later this year as well.
Bath also builds Aegis destroyers of the DDG 51 Arleigh Burke class. Completion delays with the Zumwalt and Michael Monsoor could affect Aegis destroyer production, Kent indicated.
"Navy and General Dynamics Bath Iron Works continue to work together in evaluating schedule impacts for all ships under construction in Bath, Maine, which also includes ships under construction for the Aegis Class Destroyer Program," Kent said in the statement. "Both the Navy and BIW are committed to collectively managing risks and controlling costs to deliver both DDG 1000 and DDG 51-class ships to the fleet in the most efficient manner possible."
The DDG 1000 design features an innovative, integrated power system able to switch electrical power between propulsion, sensor and weapon systems, along with a new combat system and numerous technical innovations. The Pentagon's Office of Test and Evaluation did not discuss the DDG 1000 in its latest report on selected acquisition programs, issued in January, and in its report a year earlier OT&E did not discuss any major technical problems with the ships' construction.
In life, Tulare native Elmo "Bud" Zumwalt led a distinctive, storied career that included being the youngest-ever chief of U.S. Naval Operations and the architect of Navy personnel policies that eased racial tensions in the service.
Though he died in January 2000, Zumwalt's name took a step closer this year to becoming immortalized in a new way by the Navy.
The first of a new class of navy destroyers bearing his name was christened in April at the General Dynamics Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine. Five months earlier, the future "USS Zumwalt," was put in the water for the first time for the final phases of construction.
"Basically, the ship is 92 percent complete," said Chris Johnson, a spokesman for the Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, D.C. "It's in the water. It looks like a ship."
But it doesn't look like any ship before it. The Zumwalt is the first of a new class of destroyers that will be designated "Zumwalt-class" ships.
They're about 100 feet longer than the Navy's current destroyers and operate on an electrical propulsion system powered by specially-formulated jet fuels, unlike the noisier diesel-powered engines destroyers now use.
In addition, they'll operate with about 100 fewer crew members than current destroyers because of the numerous automated systems installed that will include automatic fire-suppression equipment and automatic cannon loaders.
Then new ships also look a lot different from existing destroyers, as the Zumwalt will have very little deck area, so most of most of the crew will work and live in enclosed areas, much like sailors of submarines, Johnson said.
The body changes will help give the ships a "stealth capability" to avoid detection by enemy ships, along with a new radar system that other ships will have a tough time tracking back the source of a radar "ping," he said.
At an estimated cost of $3.1 million apiece, the first Zumwalt-class ship is expected to undergo seat testing some time next year with plans to be put into service in 2016, while two other ships are under construction.
Cranes lift a 1,000-tonne steel and carbon composite deckhouse, produced by HII's Gulfport Composite Center of Excellence, onto the hull of the USN's first Zumwalt destroyer. HII delivered a second carbon composite deckhouse to the navy on 7 August 2014 for integration onto Michael Monsoor. (General Dynamics Bath Iron Works).
Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) handed over its second and final composite deckhouse for the US Navy's (USN's) Zumwalt-class destroyer programme on 7 August.
HII's Gulfport Composite Center of Excellence based in Gulfport, Mississippi, manufactured the 900-tonne carbon fibre composite deck, which is to be barged up to Bath, Maine, where prime contractor General Dynamics Bath Iron Works (GDBIW) will integrate it onto the steel hull of second-in-class Zumwalt destroyer Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001).
Gulfport also produced the ship's 220-tonne composite hangar, which was delivered to the navy on 25 September 2013 and subsequently transported up to Bath.
As expected, HII has shuttered its Gulfport facility due to declining naval work in composites.
Work under the US Navy's next-generation DDG 1000 Zumwalt-class destroyer programme is nearing completion.
Raytheon, the chief system integrator, has reported continued progress and is meeting key milestones on course to initial operational capability (IOC).
As part of the programme, Raytheon successfully completed a test readiness review of the total-ship computing environment software, release seven, which involved 550,000 lines of code.
The review represents the first delivery of combat system software, in addition to hull, mechanical and electrical ship control functionality.
The programme also involved a test of the warship's AN/SPY-3 multi-function radar, which successfully tracked air targets using its diverse search and track modes, together with the new volume search.
Raytheon completed the third meeting of instructor-led ship control systems training with DDG 1000 pre-commissioning crew members in Bath, Maine, US.
Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems Seapower Capability Systems business area vice-president Kevin Peppe said: "Progress on milestones continues for the three ships of the class, in labs, at test facilities and dockside at the shipyard. It's an exciting and rewarding time for the programme.
"The collaboration between industry and the navy has been outstanding, all moving forward with a common goal, to bring this transformational ship class to life."
Raytheon's ship integration and test team at the Bath Iron Works shipyard in Maine is supporting the ongoing system integration and testing, with 90% of the work on the USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) already complete.
Work on the remaining vessels DDG 1001 and DDG 1002 is also underway at Bath, with 78% and 8% completed, respectively.
The U.S. Navy on Saturday christened the first ship of its newest class of destroyers, a more than $3 billion, 610-foot (186-metre)-long warship sporting advanced technology and a stealthy shape designed to minimize its visibility on enemy radar and reduce the size of its crew.
Named after the late Adm. Elmo "Bud" Zumwalt, the newest destroyer's massive size and angular profile make it stand apart from other U.S. warships. And like its namesake, a reformer who spearheaded changes that helped shape the Navy by offering new opportunities to women and minorities, the Zumwalt will shepherd the fleet into a new era, officials said.
"This ship is a modern marvel, and it's going to take smart and creative and hardworking sailors like Bud Zumwalt to operate it," Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus told the crowd of thousands at Bath Iron Works, where the ship has been under construction since 2009.
The pre-commissioning crew of future USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) completed training on its Integrated Power System (IPS) at Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division – Ship Systems Engineering Station (NSWCCD-SSES) March 14.
“The program’s objective is to provide hands-on operational training to the crew on the IPS system,” said Ed Harvey, DDG 1000 IPS Land Based Test Site (LBTS) test manager. “This enables them to become proficient in operating and maintaining the equipment.”
Zumwalt is the U.S. Navy’s first all-electric ship. The IPS includes the ability to provide power to propulsion, ship services and combat system loads from common gas turbine generators. This power flexibility allows for potentially significant energy savings and is well suited to enable future high-energy weapons and sensors.“
The power systems of the DDG 1000 are totally different than any other ship I’ve been on,” said Electrician’s Mate 1st Class Donald Goldsberry, who has served tours on four other ships. “Up to this point it’s been all classroom training, so I’m enjoying getting the hands on experience. When you can touch it and operate it with your own two hands you get a better understanding of the equipment.”
The DDG 1000 ship class utilizes a smaller crew size, therefore cross-training and inter-division support was an integral part of the training program developed by NSWCCD-SSES engineers, DDG 1000 Program Office, and Bath Iron Works (BIW).
“It’s extremely important to have the knowledge of the ship’s capabilities and limitations,” said Lt. John Weaver, the ship’s weapons officer. “Our operators need to have an understanding of the procedures and maintenance of the ship.”
The crew trained on components including main and auxiliary turbine generators, propulsion motors and drives, dynamic braking resistors, auxiliary control panels, and high-voltage switchboards. They also spent time working with harmonic filters, neutral ground resistors, the Integrated Fight-Through Power System (IFTP), power conversion modules, and the emergency diesel generator.
Equipment operation was conducted at the local control level, as well as the remote supervisory Engineering Control System (ECS). The ECS system provides a significant advancement in machinery control with automation for system transitions and power management to support the reduced manning concept for DDG 1000.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel was asked point blank on his visit Thursday to Bath Iron Works whether the Pentagon would reverse its decision back in 2008 to buy fewer DDG 1000 destroyers and more Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.
Hagel didn’t offer a direct answer. Instead the defense secretary told the crowd of sailors and ship builders the Navy continues to consider its future and the current budget constraints has forced the service to change its plans. However, he never offered a signal that the Navy would make a push toward additional DDG 1000s beyond the three already planned.
In 2008, then-Chief Naval Officer Adm. Gary Roughead announced that the service would curtail its planned purchase of DDG 1000 destroyers in favor of the Arleigh Burke. Navy leaders explained that changing priorities had forced the service to make the decision. In 2010, then Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the program would end after the three ships were built.
Hagel told the crowd that the DDG 1000 “has a rather significant future” before he described the challenges the Defense Department is facing as the military deals with sequestration and continuing resolutions.
“We are going through a difficult time now, but we’ll get through it,” Hagel said.
Hagel visited after the Navy recently christened the USS Zumwalt, the first of three Zumalt-class destroyers planned by the Navy. The second two Zumwalt-class destroyers planned for the fleet are the USS Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001) and the USS Lyndon B Jonhson (DDG 1002) slated to join the fleet in 2018 and 2021, respectively, Navy officials said.
Hagel linked the DDG 1000 to the military’s Pacific shift and indicated that the ship’s first assignment will start from San Diego, Calif.
“It represents an important shift of our balance in assets, in our focus, America’s interest to the Asia Pacific. We are not retreating from any part of the world,” Hagel said.
The DDG 1000 is engineered with a wave-piercing Tumblehome hull, a configuration designed to reduce the radar cross-section of the ship and strengthen the stealth profile. Among other things, the Tumblehome hull is engineered so that its sides slope inward above the waterline.
“The shape of the superstructure and the arrangement of its antennas significantly reduce the ship’s radar cross section, making the ship less visible to enemy radar at sea,” a Navy statement said.
The ship is also built with an Advanced Induction Motor, or AIM, a technology which uses an electric-drive propulsion system to move the ship through the water, officials said.
The DDG 1000, which weighs more than 14,500 tons and it 600-feet long, will also generate as 78 megawatts of power with its all-electric integrated power system. This electrical capacity is also designed to accommodate future technologies as they emerge such as electro-magnetic rail guns and lasers, Navy officials said.
The ship will be formally delivered to the Navy for testing late next year and is slated to reach what’s called initial operating capability by 2016.
When the USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) puts to sea later this year, it will be different from any other ship in the Navy's fleet in many ways. The $3.5 billon ship is designed for stealth, survivability, and firepower, and it's packed with advanced technology. And at the heart of its operations is a virtual data center powered by off-the-shelf server hardware, various flavors of Linux, and over 6 million lines of software code.
On October 10, I flew up to Rhode Island to visit Raytheon's Seapower Capability Center in Portsmouth, where engineers assembled and pre-tested the systems at the heart of the Zumwalt and are preparing to do the same for the next ship in line, the USS Michael Monsoor—already well into construction. There, Raytheon's DDG-1000 team gave me a tour of the centerpiece of the ship's systems—a mockup of the Zumwalt's operations center, where the ship's commanding officer and crew will control the ship's sensors, missile launchers, guns, and other systems.
Over 20 years ago, I learned how to be a ship watch stander a few miles from the Raytheon facility at the Navy's Surface Warfare Officer School. But the operations center of the Zumwalt will have more in common with the fictional starship USS Enterprise's bridge than it does with the combat information centers of the ships I went to sea on. Every console on the Zumwalt will be equipped with touch screens and software capable of taking on the needs of any operator on duty, and big screens on the forward bulkhead will display tactical plots of sea, air, and land.
Perhaps it's appropriate that the first commanding officer of the Zumwalt will be Captain James Kirk (yes, that's actually his name). But considering how heavily the ship leans on its computer networks, maybe they should look for a chief engineer named Vint Cerf....
WASHINGTON — In a blow for Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), the US Navy announced Aug. 2 it was awarding General Dynamics Bath Iron Works a $212 million contract to build a steel deckhouse for the new destroyer Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG 1002), the third and last unit of the stealthy Zumwalt class.
The Zumwalt (DDG 1000) and Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001) are being built with composite superstructures and hangars, chosen initially for their lighter weight. The hulls are steel, like those of most other Navy warships.
Although the ships are built at Bath, Maine, the composite structures are made at HII’s facility in Gulfport, Miss. The small shipyard, nearly destroyed in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina, builds the Zumwalt structures as well as tower masts for LPD 17 San Antonio-class amphibious ships.
The Navy entered into DDG 1002 composite deckhouse negotiations with HII over a year ago, but was unhappy with the price offered by the shipbuilder. A request for proposal was subsequently offered in February for a steel structure. Composite structure negotiations remained stalled, and HII declined to bid on the steel deckhouse.
The switch from composites to steel, the Navy said, was made possible by trimming weight elsewhere in the ship.
“The composite design was initially required to meet weight requirements,” Chris Johnson, a spokesman for the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), said Aug. 2. “Subsequent to the award of DDG 1000 and 1001 superstructures, sufficient weight removal allowed for the opportunity to provide a steel superstructure, which is a less costly alternative.”
The Navy expects no significant differences from the switch. “No near or long term operational or support impacts are expected,” Johnson said. “Both the composite and steel superstructures will meet the performance requirements. Common equipment is installed for all three ships and similarly arranged within the deckhouse and hangar.”
“The steel superstructure — hangar and deckhouse — for DDG 1002 is a minimal re-design of the DDG 1000/1001 composite superstructure,” Johnson added. “With the exception of using steel in lieu of using composite and the design changes that would be necessary as a result of using steel, the technical baseline will replicate that of DDG 1001.”
The Zumwalt is 84 percent complete and scheduled to be launched later this year. Initial delivery is planned for 2014, although the ship isn’t expected to be fully outfitted until 2016. The Michael Monsoor is 64 percent complete, scheduled for a 2016 delivery.
Fabrication of the Lyndon B. Johnson began in April 2012, with ship delivery planned for 2018.
Four prime contractors are involved with production of the DDG 1000s, according to the Navy. Bath is responsible for design, construction, integration, testing and delivery of the ships. HII is responsible for the fabrication of the composite deckhouse, composite helicopter hangar and aft peripheral vertical launch system for DDG 1000 and DDG 1001. Raytheon is responsible for combat systems, some of the communication systems that are not Navy program of record, total ship computing and software development and mission systems integration. BAE provides the Advanced Gun System and Long Range Land Attack Projectile for the ships.
HII spokesperson Beci Brenton said the company was disappointed with the steel deckhouse award.
“Ingalls Shipbuilding continues to perform well in building the composite products for the DDG 1000 program,” she said Aug. 2. “We demonstrated considerable improvement from the first set of class products to the second set and we are confident this trend would have continued on DDG 1002.
“We are disappointed that we will not build the composite deckhouse and hanger for DDG 1002, but we are committed to working closely with the Navy to complete our work on DDG 1001 by the first quarter of 2014.”
HII delivered the final two units of the aft missile launch system for the Michael Monsoor on July 24, a week earlier than called for in the construction contract.
Loss of the 1,000-ton deckhouse contract could be a death knell for the Gulfport shipyard. The 680-employee facility, originally created to build small Coast Guard cutters as well as major components for larger ships, has struggled to find enough work since the Coast Guard decided against composites, and no major composite-construction contracts are available beyond work currently being done.
The first of the US Navy's three new DDG 1000 Zumwalt- class guided missile destroyers remains on track to enter the water in the September 2013 timeframe, the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) programme team has confirmed. At Navy League on 9 April, the USN's programme manager for the class, Captain Jim Downey, stated that the USN expects the ship to be delivered to the navy in 2014 before reaching initial operational capability in 2016. He said that the lead ship, which has been in build since February 2009, is more than 80% complete and that "significant build" has taken place since the keel-laying in November 2011. Capt Downey added that build ofsecond-in-class DDG 1001 is 60% complete, with the keel to be laid imminently. He expects the ship "to be at the 80% point around spring 2014". He confirmed that fabrication ofship three, DDG 1002, began in2012. Capt Downey said that the 15,000-ton ships "are designed for specifie forms of warfare". With a low signature hull form, they are intended to be forward deployed into littoral areas to provide "sustained fire support". Alongside Raytheon's multiweapon Mk 57 Vertical Launch System and hangar space for two helicopters including Northrop Grumman's unmanned Fire Scout, the ships' fire support capability will be based around a pair of advanced gun systems. These twin BAE Systems guns will fire a Long-Range Land Attack Projectile (LRLAP) over ranges in excess of 63 miles. BAE Systems' director of advanced programmes, Dave Johnson, said the 7 ft-long LRLAP is "more of a missile than a projectile" and has demonstrated "outstanding accuracy" well within the required circular error probable of 5 m.
Lee Willett Jane 's Naval Desk Editor, Washington, OC
The US Navy has awarded a modification contract to Raytheon to support the Zumwalt-class destroyer DDG 1000 programme.
Under the $169m fixed-price incentive, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract, Raytheon will provide deferred mission systems equipment for the US Navy DDG 1000 and DDG 1001 destroyers.
.As part of the modification contract, Raytheon will also provide scheduled critical DDG 1002 non-hatchable mission systems equipment and non-recurring engineering for mission system equipment design and development.
The Zumwalt-class multi-mission destroyer is a next-generation, guided-missile naval destroyer and has beem designed to support littoral warfare and network-centric warfare missions.
Featuring a low radar profile, an integrated power system and total ship computing environment infrastructure, the 15,000t DDG 1000 Zumwalt-class destroyer will provide offensive, distributed and precision firing capabilities for onshore forces.
In addition to providing independent forward presence and deterrence for carrying out operations in littoral areas, the multi-mission DDG 1000 uses electric power for propulsion and combat technology.
The destroyers will also be used by the US Navy to support special operations forces, and operate as an integral part of joint and combined expeditionary crews.
Scheduled to be launched and christened in 2013, the first DDG 1000 vessel is 80% complete and is due for delivery to the US Navy in 2014, with initial operations scheduled for 2016.
The second and third ships of the class, the future USS Michael Monsoor and the future USS Lyndon B Johnson are scheduled to be delivered to the navy in 2016 and 2018 respectively.
The Naval Sea Systems Command will serve as the contracting activity.
BATH, Maine (NNS) -- The Navy's next generation destroyer, the future USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000), completed a major ship milestone with the successful lift and integration of the deckhouse on to the ship's hull Dec. 14. The 1,000-ton deckhouse was fabricated by Huntington Ingalls Industries in Gulfport, Miss., and delivered to the Navy in October 2012. The deckhouse was then transported to Bath, Maine for integration with the ship's hull, which is under construction at General Dynamics Bath Iron Works. With the successful lift and integration of the deckhouse, 9 of 9 ultra units are now on land level at BIW. "The industry government team meticulously planned the 100' static lift of the deckhouse and translation of the 610' hull into position under the deckhouse," said Downey. "The deckhouse was then lowered into position and the resulting ship moved back into the construction position on the land level facility. Working with our industry partners, we look forward to delivering this highly capable ship to the Fleet." Construction on DDG 1000 began in February 2009 and is currently 80 percent complete, with ship launch and Christening planned for 2013. The ship is scheduled to deliver in 2014 with an initial operating capability in 2016. Zumwalt will be 610 feet in length, have a beam of 80 feet, displace approximately 15,000 tons, and will have a crew of 130 officers and sailors plus an air detachment. The deckhouse, which is built from steel and composite materials, is 155 feet long and over 60 feet high and will house the ship's bridge, radars, antennas and intake and exhaust systems. Progress on the DDG 1000 Zumwalt class guided missile destroyers continues to go very well, with all three ships now under construction. Construction on the second ship of the class, Michael Monsoor, began in 2010 with delivery planned in 2016. DDG 1002, the future USS Lyndon B. Johnson, is expected to deliver to the Navy in 2018....
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Engineering studies to include an electromagnetic railgun on a Zumwalt-class destroyer (DDG-1000) have started at Naval Sea Systems Command, NAVSEA’s head said Thursday.
The work will do the math to determine if the Zumwalt-class will have the space, power and cooling to field a railgun – likely replacing one of the two 155mm BAE Advanced Gun Systems (AGS) ahead of the ship’s deck house, Vice Adm. William Hilarides told USNI News following remarks at the Office of Naval Research Naval Future Force Science and Technology Expo.
“We have begun real studies – as opposed to just a bunch of guys sitting around – real engineering studies are being done to make sure it’s possible,” Vice Adm. William Hilarides said following remarks at
The likely candidate for the weapon would be the third planned Zumwalt, Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG-1002) currently under construction at General Dynamics Bath Iron Works (BIW) with an expected delivery date of 2018.
He said the first two ships – Zumwalt (DDG-1000) and Michael Monsoor (DDG-1001) – would be less likely to field the capability initially due to the schedule of testing with the new class.
“The team is working diligently now but it would not happen until after delivery of the ships – probably the third ship is where we’d have it,” Hilarides said. “That would certainly be my recommendation.”
The Navy is in early stages of testing and fielding a railgun – which forgoes the gunpowder in the shells of conventional naval guns and instead uses high powered electromagnetic pulses along a set of rails to shoot a projectile at super sonic speeds.
The Navy plans to test a BAE Systems prototype railgun onboard the Joint High Speed Vessel USNS Millinocket (JHSV- 3) next year.
Last year, then Navy director of surface warfare now commander of U.S. Surface Forces Command, Vice Adm. Thomas Rowden told USNI News the Zumwalts would be likely used as test beds for emerging technologies like railguns and directed energy weapons the Navy wants for its next large surface combatant due to the ship’s size an ability to generate power.
The integrated power system (IPS) on the 16,000-ton ships– powered by two massive Rolls Royce MT-30 gas turbines and two smaller Rolls-Royce RR450– allow the ships to route and generate 80 mega-watt power – much more electrical power than the current crop of U.S. destroyers and cruisers.
On Wednesday, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert said a Zumwalt would likely be the first ship to get the capability.
The inclusion of the railgun does mean a capabilities trade for the ship.
The future USS Zumwalt, the first ship of the DDG 1000 multimission destroyer class, performed a successful Generator Light-Off of its first Main Turbine Generator Set (MTG) this week, Rolls-Royce announced. The ship is now power self-sufficient enabling follow-on systems testing and trials. Neil Pickard, Rolls-Royce, Program Executive said, “On behalf of the entire DDG 1000 program team, I am very pleased to confirm the successful Light-Off of the first Rolls-Royce MT30 Main Turbine Generator Set this week. The accomplishment of this important milestone is significant as it enables us to progress with more comprehensive and self-sufficient testing of the ship’s Integrated Power System (IPS) over the weeks and months ahead.” The IPS on the DDG 1000 multimission destroyer generates all the power required for main propulsion, combat systems, sensors and weapons systems. Onboard the Zumwalt are two Rolls-Royce MT30 Main Turbine Generator Sets (MTGs) and two RR4500 Auxiliary Turbine Generator Sets (ATGs) that will provide a total of 78 MW for total ship power - the MTGs provide 35.4 MW each and the ATGs 3.8 MW each. Don Roussinos, Rolls-Royce, President – Naval said, “Rolls-Royce is extremely proud of the successful Light-Off of the first MT30 Main Turbine Generator Set aboard Zumwalt, and we look forward to similar success with the two Auxiliary Turbine Generator Sets as well as the second MTG over the coming months. Rolls-Royce generator sets are designed, tested and proven to deliver highly survivable power for the ship’s Integrated Power System that provides 100% of the electrical power aboard the Zumwalt class multi-mission destroyers.” According to Rolls-Royce, the MT30 is the most power dense marine gas turbine in the world, selected to power the most modern and advanced vessels in the US Navy, including the Freedom Class Littoral Combat Ship, as well as with the Royal Navy’s Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers, the Type 26 Global Combat Ship and the Republic of Korea Navy’s FFX Batch II frigate.
The Navy has replaced two 57mm guns planned on the Zumwalt-class guided missile destroyer designed to fight off swarm boat attacks with a smaller pair of 30mm guns, Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) told USNI News on Monday. The trio of Zumwalt-class ships were originally designed to field the BAE Systems MK 110 close-in gun system (CIGS) — a gun used on both classes of Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) — to provide the ship’s company options to fight off so-called swarm boat attacks of the ship as part of a 2005 critical design review (CDR).
“The basis of that decision was the expected performance of the gun and its munitions, coupled with desire for commonality in [Navy] and [the Coast Guard], according to a NAVSEA statement provided to USNI News.
But in order to save weight and costs, NAVSEA elected to install twin General Dynamics 30 mm Mk 46 Gun System instead.
NAVSEA said it continued to evaluate the Mk 110 after the 2005 CDR.
“Through 2010, various analysis efforts were conducted to assess the performance of potential cost-saving alternatives to the Mk 110 CIGS, for both procurement and life-cycle costs,” read the statement. “The results of the analysis for alternative systems to the Mk 110 CIGS were not conclusive enough to recommend a shift in plan.”
The 57mm Mk 110 fires a 220 rounds/min at range of about nine nautical miles, according to information from BAE.
Following a 2012 review the Navy, “concluded that the MK46 was more effective than the MK110 CIGS,” according to NAVSEA. “In addition to the increased capability, the change from MK110 to Mk 46 resulted in reduction in weight and significant cost avoidance, while still meeting requirements… that will provide a robust rapid fire capability and increased lethality against hostile surface targets approaching the ship.”
The 30mm Mk 46 has range 2.17 nautical miles and fires at a rate of 200 rounds/minute, according to the Navy.
NAVSEA did not elaborate on what the original requirements were the DDG-1000.
In the small town of Bath, Maine, tucked up along the picturesque Kennebec River, one of the most striking warships ever conceived is under construction. The design of the future USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) takes stealth to the extreme, and it’s no exaggeration to say no one has ever seen a ship like this.
Six hundred feet long on the waterline, the Zumwalt will displace nearly 16,000 tons full load when she puts to sea towards the end of 2015. All external protuberances have been recessed or subsumed into the hull or superstructure in order to minimize radar cross sections and signatures, resulting in a ship that is as streamlined as possible.
Launched last October at General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, the Zumwalt was formally christened on April 12. She’s expected to begin sea trials in late 2015.
Three ships of the class are under construction. The second, Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001), is coming together on the shipyard’s Land-Level Transfer Facility, while construction has begun on the Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG 1002).
We visited the ship on May 29, 2014, a beautiful, calm day after a long streak of dull, dark, drizzly weather. Thanks to the folks at Bath Iron Works and the US Navy’s Naval Sea Systems Command, we came back with some of the best photos yet of the new ship. Interior photography was not permitted, so, sorry, folks, no shots of the ship workers, scaffolding and construction-zone ephemera that is inside. But the exterior of the ship is getting pretty close to what she’ll look like when she goes to sea.
BATH — Bath Iron Works is hiring hundreds of new workers this year and launching an on-site training facility as the shipyard enters a phase when crews will be working on six Navy destroyers simultaneously.
BIW officials said they expect to hire about 600 people by the end of the year, elevating the shipyard’s workforce to nearly 6,000 for the first time since 2004. The hiring spree is a response to the fact that six destroyers – representing two entirely different designs – will be at various stages of construction at the General Dynamics-owned shipyard.
“That is more (work) than we have dealt with in a long, long time,” said Edward Kenyon, manager of the DDG-51 destroyer program at BIW.
With roughly 5,450 workers, BIW is one of Maine’s largest private employers. It is also one of the Navy’s primary shipyards and has benefited from a steady stream of new Navy contracts in recent years despite the budget cuts and financial uncertainty that have gripped Washington.
“The feeling is pretty good about the backlog. However, we know we have to perform on it,” said Jay Wadleigh, president of the Local S6 chapter of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union. Tight federal budgets and higher expectations will keep pressure on BIW to control costs, Wadleigh said.
BIW will be working on three DDG-51 Arleigh Burke destroyers, which are updated variants on a destroyer class in Navy service for more than two decades, and three DDG-1000 Zumwalt destroyers. The first of the “stealth” Zumwalt destroyers is pier-side at BIW, undergoing final construction before at-sea testing next year. Large sections of the second Zumwalt and the next Arleigh Burke are also under construction at the yard.
TRAINING FACILITY CREATED
Shipyard officials said they will be hiring a broad range of skilled workers, including electricians, pipe fitters, outside machinists, welders and tinsmiths, as well as electrical, structural and mechanical engineers.
Although most new workers arrive at BIW with prior experience or training in their field, shipyard officials have created a training facility to help workers tailor those skills to the shipyard’s needs. For instance, the high-voltage electrical power system in the Zumwalt destroyers operates at 4,160 volts, compared to the 110-volt systems that are standard in most residences and businesses.
The training facility, which opened on a limited basis in recent weeks, is set up like an industrial classroom with stations such as welding, pipe-bending, brazing and stud-welding. The program’s Rick Blair said new recruits will spend two to six weeks in training, depending on the trade.
In addition to the work-related expansion, the company also is bracing for a steady wave of retirements in the coming years. The average BIW tradesman has worked there for 20 years, said BIW spokesman Matt Wickenheiser.
“We expect we are going to need to continue training new workers for years to come because of that aging workforce,” Kenyon said. “It also means there will be great opportunities for people who live in the area.”
Wadleigh said BIW officials told his union that they could hire between 600 and 1,000 workers this year, depending on the rate of attrition.
WASHINGTON - La Marine américaine s'apprête à baptiser samedi l'USS Zumwalt, premier d'une nouvelle classe de destroyers aux formes futuristes qui ne sera finalement développée qu'en trois exemplaires en raison de son coût de développement et d'une réévaluation des besoins.
Le navire, dont la construction a débuté en 2009, doit entrer en service en 2016. La cérémonie de baptême, au cours de laquelle une bouteille de mousseux sera brisée sur la coque comme le veut la tradition, se déroulera sur le chantier naval de Bath, dans le Maine, précise l'US Navy dans un communiqué.
Le Zumwalt, nommé en l'honneur d'un ancien chef d'état-major de la Marine américaine, a été conçu comme un navire multi-missions axé sur des capacités de bombardement terrestre et naval grâce à deux canons de 155 mm. Il est également doté de 80 tubes de lancement de missiles, adaptés notamment pour les missiles Tomahawk.
Il comprend de nombreuses technologies nouvelles, notamment en matière de propulsion, qui lui permettent d'opérer avec un équipage réduit à 158 hommes contre 276 pour les destroyers de la classe Arleigh-Burke, en service depuis le début des années 1990.
Il est également plus gros, jaugeant plus de 15 000 tonnes, contre moins de 10 000 pour les Arleigh-Burke.
L'US Navy compte actuellement 62 destroyers de classe Arleigh Burke, dont 25 sont équipés du système de défense antibalistique (BMD) et constituent le fer de lance du bouclier antimissile américain.
Le Zumwalt, qui sera suivi du Michael-Monsoor et du Lyndon-Johnson, en est en revanche dépourvu.
4 milliards par navire
L'US Navy comptait à l'origine se doter de 24 destroyers de la classe Zumwalt. Elle n'en aura finalement que trois après avoir réévalué en 2008 les types de menaces auxquelles elle s'attend à faire face dans les décennies à venir.
Mais cette décision est également dûe au dérapage des coûts de développement du navire, une inflation aggravée par la baisse du nombre de navires finalement décidée: le Zumwalt coûtera plus de 4 milliards de dollars, contre environ 1,5 milliards pour un destroyer de la classe Arleigh-Burke.
After first entering the water in October of last year, the Navy’s first DDG 1000 next-generation destroyer is gearing up for additional tests and heavy weather trials, service officials said at the Surface Navy Association’s 2014 Symposium in Crystal City, Va.
The ship will be formally delivered to the Navy for testing later this year and is slated to reach what’s called initial operating capability by 2016, according to Navy officials.
The DDG 1000, or USS Zumwalt, is the first of three Zumalt-class destroyers planned by the Navy. The second two Zumwalt-class destroyers planned for the fleet are the USS Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001) and the USS Lyndon B Jonhson (DDG 1002) slated to join the fleet in 2018 and 2021, respectively, Navy officials said.
“Our next event is fuel on-load and there are tests related to that. Then there is a data center light off toward the end of the spring to early summer. Then we start bringing up the entire propulsion system in full so there are all sorts of propulsion events there, leading up to builders trials and acceptance trials,” said Capt. Jim Downey, DDG 1000 program manager.
The heavy weather trials will involve placing instrumentation on the ship and testing how it reacts to high winds, stormy seas and adverse weather conditions, Downey explained.
“It’s a brand new hull form. We’re tracking the certification of the hull form because it is a new design. This will involve lateral and vertical accelerations and pitch and roll,” he said.
The DDG 1000 is engineered with a wave-piercing Tumblehome hull, a configuration designed to reduce the radar cross-section of the ship and strengthen the “stealth” profile, Navy officials said. Among other things, the Tumblehome hull is engineered so that its sides slope inward above the waterline.
“The shape of the superstructure and the arrangement of its antennas significantly reduce the ship’s radar cross section, making the ship less visible to enemy radar at sea,” a Navy statement said.
Undersea warfare anti-submarine technology is also part of the DDG 1000s’ technical configuration. It is equipped with an AN/SQQ-90 Integrated Undersea Warfare suite designed to help provide undersea detection and targeting capability, Navy officials said.
The ship is also built with an Advanced Induction Motor, or AIM, a technology which uses an electric-drive propulsion system to move the ship through the water, officials said.
The DDG 1000, which weighs more than 14,500 tons and is 600-feet long, will also generate as 78 megawatts of power with its all-electric integrated power system. This electrical capacity is also designed to accommodate future technologies as they emerge such as electro-magnetic rail guns and lasers, Navy officials said.
Other technologies on the DDG 1000 include and Advanced Gun System which can fire rocket-powered precision projectiles as far as 63-nautical miles, Navy officials indicated.
The Advanced Gun System has performed very well in testing, consistently reaching a Circular Error Probable of 20-meters or less from distances up to 60-nautical miles, Downey said.
“We’re getting ready to buy hundreds of rounds,” he added.
The DDG 1000 warship is primarily designed for land attack and littoral or shallow-water coastal missions, among other things, he said.
Other upcoming efforts will include mission systems activation, a move which will integrate and finalize the electronics on the ship. Overall, the software for DDG 1000 is 90-percent complete, involving about 6-million lines of code, Downey said.
Testing will also examine the rotating X-band radar for the ship engineered to identify potential threats. The X-band radar has replaced a prior S-band radar on the ship, Downey explained.
With little ceremony, Bath Iron Works launched the ZUMWALT (DDG 1000) into Maine’s Kennebec River on Monday afternoon, Oct. 28.
The 600-foot-long ship — the largest destroyer ever built — was floated off from a floating drydock that had been moved into the middle of the river. The operation to move the drydock out into the river, flood the dock, float off the Zumwalt and move her to a pier took about eight hours, according to Matt Wickenheiser, a spokesman for the shipyard.
The ship began its translation — an engineering term for transferring the ship from land to water — from the shipyard’s land-level construction facility to a floating dry dock Friday, Oct. 25.
“This is the largest ship Bath Iron Works has ever constructed and the Navy’s largest destroyer,” said Capt. Jim Downey, the Zumwalt-class program manager for the Navy’s Program Executive Office, Ships. ”The launch was unprecedented in both its size and complexity.”
The ship’s christening, planned for Oct. 19 but put off because of the government shutdown, won’t take place until sometime in the spring, the Navy said. Zumwalt is about 87 percent complete, but more than a year of work is needed before the ship is delivered in late 2014. Even then, further development, tests and trials of the ship’s combat systems will continue well into 2016.
Zumwalt is the first of three ships in the DDG 1000 class. Major portions of the Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001) already have been assembled, and with Zumwalt launched, more sections will be joined together.
Construction also is proceeding on the Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG 1002).
Le DDG-1000 intègre un nombre significatif de nouvelles technologies, en particulier un design de coque frégatée, à l’étrave inversée brise-vague, pour réduire la signature, une superstructure en partie réalisée avec des sections en matériaux composites (comme la fibre de verre), plutôt qu’en acier ou en aluminium (matériau non retenu pour le 3ème de la série), un système de propulsion électrique intégré, un système de distribution informatisé de l’information sur l’ensemble du navire, des technologies d’automatisation des tâches pour obtenir la réduction des équipages, un système radar de nouvelle génération , un nouveau type de lanceurs verticaux (VLS) pour le stockage et le lancement des missiles, et un couple de canons de 155 mm appelé Advanced Gun System (AGS).
The destroyer Zumwalt is one of the most strikingly different warships ever built, in any age. Angular and stealthy, the ship’s lines are almost as different from other destroyers as the Monitor and Virginia/Merrimac were from the sailing ships of their era. In some ways, the Zumwalt’s silhouette actually harkens back to Confederate-built Civil War-era ironclads, as well as the North’s Dunderberg.
The Zumwalt’s formal christening party scheduled for Oct. 19 has been postponed due to the government shutdown, but the shipbuilders up at Bath Iron Works continue to ready the ship for launching, likely to take place before the month is out.
The U.S. Navy recently completed four successful tests of its new 155mm AGS (Advanced Gun System) cannon. The LRLAP (Long Range Land Attack Projectile) GPS guided shell performed as expected and was fired out to 83 kilometers. It was only two years ago, after six years of development, that the first successful test firing of the 155mm AGS took place. The navy would like to replace existing 127mm guns on some warships with the AGS, if only because the 127mm gun has a much shorter range (24 kilometers) and uses only unguided ammo.
Designed for use on the new DDG 1000 ("Zumwalt") destroyers, the AGS fires GPS guided shells up to 190 kilometers. So far test firing has only been to about half the planned range. The GPS guidance enables the shells to land inside a 50 meter (155 foot) circle. The AGS shells carry 11 kg (24 pounds) of explosives. The AGS uses a water cooled barrel, so that it can fire ten rounds a minute for extended periods. Each AGS carries 335 rounds of ammo, which is loaded and fired automatically. The AGS shell was originally supposed to enter service in 2015. That has now been delayed at least three years.
The U.S. Army has a similar round, the Excalibur, which entered service six years ago. Excalibur has a max range of 50 kilometers and will land within a 20 meter (62 foot) circle. In practice, Excalibur will land within a few meters of where it's aimed. Each Excalibur shell carries 9 kg (20 pounds) of explosives. The AGS shell has a longer range because it is fired from a longer barrel using a more powerful propellant charge. AGS rounds are also capable of the same accuracy as Excalibur, but it depends on the quality of the GPS signal in the area.
The new AGS round replaced an earlier project, that ended in 2005, after twelve years of effort, and two billion dollars, to develop a GPS guided round for a five inch (127mm) naval gun. This ERGM (extended range guided munition) system never worked reliably. So the navy went looking for another solution. Taking note of the success of the 155mm Excalibur, the navy ended up using that technology for its AGS. The navy wanted to use AGS on new warship designs, in order to get more effectiveness out of the limited amount of ammo a ship can carry. Accuracy is the key. A "dumb" (unguided) artillery shell will land with 75 meters (or more, depending on range) of the aiming point, while the laser guided Copperhead (an older army 155mm design that was too expensive) would land within a meter or two. GPS guided shells will land within 3-25 meters of the aiming point.
Excalibur has proved very popular with army troops, but with so many other guided weapons available (especially the 227mm GPS guided rocket), not many are used. In Afghanistan 5-10 Excalibur shells are fired a week. For this reason, AGS may never be heavily used for supporting troops ashore. Adding a terminal guidance system to the AGS shell would make it suitable to attacking other ships. Some naval officers have urged the adoption of the army 227mm MLRS rocket but there’s too much support for AGS for that to happen, at least not yet. Meanwhile, Italy has put into service a GPS guided 127mm shell (Volcano) that has a 100 kilometer range and works. The Italian 127/64mm gun is a bit longer than the U.S. 127mm/54mm models, but that would not reduce range of the rocket assisted Volcano shell by much. While there is resistance to buying foreign weapons for U.S. ships, there have been several exceptions in the past few decades and Volcano may be another one. The AGS is really too big and power hungry to fit on existing American destroyers and cruisers.
The Excalibur technology could be adapted for use on the 127mm gun most American destroyers carry, as could an even cheaper (and less accurate) technology that uses a larger fuze (the device that is screwed into the front of the shell to handle detonation) containing the GPS receiver and some movable fins to guide the shell. But the navy guided shell effort has burned up so much cash, and failed so many times, that growing budget cuts may just cause the effort to be halted, for now. Or at least until the Chinese reveal they are working on a similar shell for their warships.
Naval Sea Systems Command will decide if the third Zumwalt-class DDG-1000 will have a steel or composite deck house by the end of the year, NAVSEA officials told USNI News on Tuesday.
In a briefing at the Navy League Sea Air Space Exposition 2013 at National Harbor, Md. DDG-1000 program manager Jim Downey
“We’re always constantly focused on cost. The signal there should be the weight control on the program has gone very well. It allows us to do steel, if we choose to go down that path,” Downey said. “That’s the only planned change on the program.”
The first two ships in the DDG-1000 program were designed with an 850-ton deckhouse made from composites at Huntington Ingalls Industries facility in Gulf Port, Mississippi.
In December, HII barged the deckhouse for Zumwalt to Bath, Maine for installation at General Dynamics Bath Iron Works.
The final decision on the deckhouse will come later this year, pending negotiations with HII, NAVSEA spokesman Chris Johnson told USNI News.
DDG-1000 is designed to be primarily a land-attack platform with a focus on naval surface fire support.
BATH , Maine (Dec. 14, 2012) The 1,000-ton deckhouse of the future destroyer USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) is craned toward the deck of the ship to be integrated with the ship's hull at General Dynamics Bath Iron Works. The ship launch and christening are planned in 2013. (U.S. Navy photo)
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