Capt. James Kirk, the ship’s commanding officer, has pictures of Zumwalt and books about him in his office. It was built at Bath Iron Works in Maine.
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Capt. James Kirk said what’s left of former Hurricane Hermine was creating some strong waves in the North Atlantic, but he said it wouldn’t prevent the ship from departing from the Navy shipbuilder.
The sleek warship will turn heads, no doubt. “Each ship features a battery of two Advanced Gun Systems (AGS) firing Long-Range Land Attack Projectiles (LRLAP) that reach up to 63 nautical miles [72 miles, 115 kilometers], providing a three-fold range improvement in naval surface fires coverage”, according to the U.S. Navy website.
Heavy automation of fire suppression, flood control and other systems means fewer sailors are required, part of a trend in the Navy.
“It’s time for us to do our job at sea”, he said. His legacy is proudly carried on today by the new class of destroyers that bear his name.
And, the Zumwalt’s unique and significant capability to generate power could be used in ways perhaps not even envisioned yet, such as in the testing and use of laser and directed-energy weapons systems, Rowden said.
The Zumwalt, Daly said, has the smallest crew size since the Farragut-class built in the 1930s, which featured a similar complement of sailors.
The IPS is a system in which Zumwalt’s main engines power a complex electrical grid that power massive electrical motors instead of a direct mechanical link to the ship’s propellers.
The bridge looks like something from “Star Trek” with two chairs surrounded by almost 360 degrees of video monitors, with inevitable comparisons of the Zumwalt to the Starship Enterprise and the skipper to the fictional Captain Kirk.
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“Certainly I have been ribbed every now and then with someone saying, ‘Yes, you’re going where no man has gone before, on this class of ship, ‘” Kirk joked, referring to the line from the “Star Trek” TV series.
