US Navy accepts USS Zumwalt

The US Navy has accepted the delivery of the future USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000), a guided missile destroyer and the lead ship of the Zumwalt class, it announced on 20 May.

The ship was delivered after extensive tests, trials and demonstrations of its electrical, mechanical and hull systems, as well as its handling, anchor and mooring systems and its communications, navigation, ballasting and damage control systems.

The DDG 1000 is designed for sustained operations in land attack and littoral waters, providing independent forward deterrence and presence. It will also support special operations forces and operate within combined and joint expeditionary forces.

The 610ft, tumblehome ship design reduces the radar cross section significantly. The ship also features the Integrated Power System (IPS), which distributes 1,000V direct current across the ship, and a battery of two Advanced Gun Systems that can fire Long-Range Land Attack Projectiles with a range of up to 63 nautical miles.

Each ship has 80 Advanced Vertical Launch System cells for Standard missiles, Tomahawk missiles, Evolved Sea Sparrow missiles and Vertical Launch Anti-Submarine rockets.

General Dynamics-Bath Iron Works will conduct a crew certification period, following which the commissioning will take place on 15 October 2016.

The ship will then be transported to its San Diego home port, where Mission Systems Activation and Post Delivery Availability will continue simultaneously. The company is also constructing the follow-on ships, the future USS Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG 1002) and USS Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001).