The U.S. Navy’s Largest, Most Expensive, and Most Advanced Destroyer Ever Leaves Shipyard

The future USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) departing Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine, marking the beginning of a 3-month journey to its new homeport in San Diego. U.S. Navy Photo

The future USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000), the largest and most technologically advanced destroyer ever built for the U.S. Navy, has departed Bath Iron Works shipyard where it has been under construction for more than half a decade.

At a total of cost of nearly $4 billion, the DDG 1000 is also the most expensive destroyer ever built for the U.S. Navy.

The DDG 1000 is the lead ship of the new Zumwalt-class, the U.S. Navy’s next-generation, guided-missile naval destroyer. The Zumwalt-class features a state-of-the-art electric propulsion system, a wave-piercing tumblehome hull, a stealthy low radar profile design, and the latest war fighting technology and weaponry available.

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 IPS generates approximately 78 megawatts of power, nearly equal to a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, in order to meet the total ship electric power requirements and provide extra capacity to accommodate future weapons and systems.

“With 78 megawatts of power generation capacity readily available, DDG 1000 enters the Fleet bringing with it a new era of power generation, conversion and propulsion to the U.S. Navy,” said Capt. James A. Kirk, Zumwalt’s commanding officer.

In addition to its advanced weapon and propulsion systems, Zumwalt is also much larger than today’s destroyers, weighing some 15,000 tonnes. At 610 feet long and 80.7 feet wide, Zumwalt is 100 feet longer and 13 feet wider and its flight deck is 93 percent larger than an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer to which it succeeds.

But despite its size, Zumwalt is crewed by just 147 sailors, about half that of the Arleigh Burke-class.

“Stealthy, powerful and lethal, Zumwalt integration into the fleet will provide a vital link from the Navy’s current needs to its future capabilities,” the U.S. Navy said in a statement Monday.

The USS Zumwalt is to be formally commissioned during Fleet Week Maryland in Baltimore on October 15, at which point it will then begin its transit to San Diego.

Upon arrival in San Diego, the destroyer is scheduled to take part in a Post Delivery Availability and Mission Systems Activation and is expected to be integrated into the fleet in 2018 following test and evaluation.

DDG 1000 is named for Adm. Elmo R. “Bud” Zumwalt Jr., former chief of naval operations (CNO) from 1970 to 1974. A veteran of World War II and the conflicts in Korea and Vietnam, Adm. Zumwalt served 32 years of dedicated naval service, earning a Bronze Star with Valor for his actions during the Battle of Leyte Gulf.

“We take a great deal of pride in our namesake, Adm. Zumwalt, and are committed to honoring him through our service,” said Kirk.

Bath Iron Works, part of General Dynamics, has been commissioned to build three Zumwalt-class destroyers for the U.S. Navy, Zumwalt (DDG 1000), Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001) and Lyndon Johnson (DDG 1002).