USS Zumwalt

[P. Grimm]

If you haven't already seen, this is the newest class of Navy destroyer out for testing. It looks pretty cool!

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/features-americas-most-futuristic-ship-163821016.html

[LaPrade]

Been keeping up with this for awhile, I was hoping that the two deck guns would feature general atomics electromagnetics railgun, as well as a 100 to 150kw laser weapon system.

[Maines]

Got to help with the Zumwalt's Sea Trials recently. Its an amazing piece of architecture and technology!

[Schram]

If we ever have to go to war with this thing it will be a nightmare. A ship design so expensive the program was canceled at 3 ships instead of 34 and the Navy is actually considering scrapping the the third hill before it's completed. 3.4B dollars per hull on top of the 9B spent on R&D is absurd. The design is a tumblehome hull which has some notoriously bad seakeeping quirks. Also while undermanning is a cost saving measure, damage control is one thing that is tough to automate. When it comes to a casualty, the only way to fight fires or shore up breaches in the hull is with manpower, an area where the Zumwalts are critically short.

[CPT (Ret) Richardson]

If we ever have to go to war with this thing it will be a nightmare. A ship design so expensive the program was canceled at 3 ships instead of 34 and the Navy is actually considering scrapping the the third hill before it's completed. 3.4B dollars per hull on top of the 9B spent on R&D is absurd. The design is a tumblehome hull which has some notoriously bad seakeeping quirks. Also while undermanning is a cost saving measure, damage control is one thing that is tough to automate. When it comes to a casualty, the only way to fight fires or shore up breaches in the hull is with manpower, an area where the Zumwalts are critically short.

Sounds like every 21st century military acquisition or project.

[CPT (Ret) Nagel]

Meanwhile the Army is the one that does the killing and dying, and are now losing their jobs to expensive aircraft and ships...

[CW2 (Ret) O'Neill]

Meanwhile the Army is the one that does the killing and dying, and are now losing their jobs to expensive aircraft and ships...

A sad, sad hooah to that, sir..

[Nilsen]

The Zumwalt just saved some sick fishermen in trouble on it's maiden voyage, tax dollars hard at work!

[G. Hart]

Been keeping up with this for awhile, I was hoping that the two deck guns would feature general atomics electromagnetics railgun, as well as a 100 to 150kw laser weapon system.

As I understand it, this ship is built with upgrades in mind. They are planning to install the railguns later down the road once that technology is ready. This supposedly will give the ability to fire over the horizon, 120km range.

[P. Grimm]

The Zumwalt just saved some sick fishermen in trouble on it's maiden voyage, tax dollars hard at work!

...and then it broke down. Sad day

[Maines]

I heard the reason it broke down was the company that provided some of the parts gave us a shit one. Good to hear it wasnt Bath Iron Works fault...

[Ellros]

  It wasn't the Zumwalt that broke down.   It was one of the Freedom class LCS's that was transiting from the Great Lakes (where they are built) to the Atlantic.