The nation’s largest and most technologically sophisticated destroyer will join the Navy with a crew that’s the smallest of any destroyer built since the 1930s thanks to extensive automation.
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The US Navy’s first Zumwalt-class guided missile destroyer, USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000), has successfully completed an engineering light off assessment and crew certification period at General Dynamics-Bath Iron Works.
The ship combat surface ship generates nearly as much electricity as a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, according to the navy, in order to accommodate “future weapons and computing systems”.
The commissioning ceremony is scheduled for October 15 at the Port of Baltimore.
“The US Navy says the ship has a crew of almost 150 Sailors and is the” lead ship of a class of next-generation multi-mission destroyers created to strengthen US naval power”.
The first in a class of new guided missile destroyer has left its ME shipyard to start a three-month journey to its homeport in San Diego, Calif.
“We all work together because there are fewer of us”, said the chief petty officer, who’s the primary supervisor for sailors who operate the ship’s weapon systems.
“The 147 Sailors of Zumwalt (DDG 1000) have completed the training and certifications required of them in record time”. From there the ship will head to San Diego, where it is to be based. “The three things this crew exemplifies is high level of technical expertise, great teamwork and then the toughness to get done what needs to get done”, Navy Capt. James Kirk said before the ship maneuvered down the Kennebec River to sea.
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DDG 1000 will be the first U.S. Navy combatant surface ship to be equipped with an integrated power system (IPS) to provide electric power for propulsion and ship services. The ship is set to be “integrated into the fleet” by 2018, the service said on Wednesday. His legacy is proudly carried on today by the new class of destroyers that bear his name.
