Dear readers, the U.S Navy would like to introduce to you its most technologically sophisticated destroyer to date: The USS Zumwalt.
The USS Zumwalt (designed by Raytheon) is powered by electricity produced by turbines, has guns that can hit targets over 70 miles away, and has a sharp-angled geometric design that apparently makes the 610 foot long ship 50 times more difficult to detect on radar. It also has a state-of-the-art weapon launcher designed to fire missiles for sea, land, and air attacks. All of this for a taxpayer cost of a mere $4.4 billion.
During the testing phase for the ship, a lobsterman told the Associated Press that the vessel appeared to be a 50 to 60 foot fishing boat on his radar.
The ship is set to be formally commissioned in October in Baltimore, and will have a home port of San Diego.
Here is a time-lapse video posted by the Navy showing the ship’s initial launch in 2013
See, the defense budget needs to be as large as it is in order to build behemoth warships such as this. The good news is that it will only show up as small fishing boat when sent to the Fiery Cross Reef in order to agitate China.
The only question is how long before this ship also suffers a terminal failure.
Recall that in December one of the Navy’s newest ships had to be towed more than 40 miles to port after it broke down less than a month after it was commissioned into service. The littoral combat ship USS Milwaukee, which cost a far more modest $360 million, broke down just days after its was put into service.
For $4.4 billion, the Zumwalt’s failure should be truly breathtaking.
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