Saturday, May 21, 2016

New stealth destroyer turned over to U.S. Navy, Capt. James Kirk Brad Lendon-Profile-Image By Brad Lendon, CNN

New stealth destroyer turned over to U.S. Navy, Capt. James Kirk

Brad Lendon-Profile-Image
By Brad Lendon, CNN
Updated 1741 GMT (0141 HKT) May 20, 2016 
Mouzetta Zumwalt-Weathers christens the Zumwalt during a ceremony at Bath Iron Works on April 12, 2014.
7 photos: USS Zumwalt begins sea trials
Mouzetta Zumwalt-Weathers christens the Zumwalt during a ceremony at Bath Iron Works on April 12, 2014.
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The ship is floated out of dry dock at the Bath Iron Works shipyard on October 28, 2013.
7 photos: USS Zumwalt begins sea trials
The ship is floated out of dry dock at the Bath Iron Works shipyard on October 28, 2013.
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The 1,000-ton deckhouse is craned toward the deck of the ship to be integrated with the its hull at Bath Iron Works on December 14, 2012.
7 photos: USS Zumwalt begins sea trials
The 1,000-ton deckhouse is craned toward the deck of the ship to be integrated with the its hull at Bath Iron Works on December 14, 2012.
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Retired Marine Corps Lt. Col. James G. Zumwalt, left, assists welder Carl Pepin as he inscribes a steel plate at a keel laying ceremony at Bath Iron Works on Thursday, November 17, 2011.
7 photos: USS Zumwalt begins sea trials
Retired Marine Corps Lt. Col. James G. Zumwalt, left, assists welder Carl Pepin as he inscribes a steel plate at a keel laying ceremony at Bath Iron Works on Thursday, November 17, 2011.
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The USS Zumwalt, the Navy's biggest and most expensive destroyer ever built, heads out into the Atlantic Ocean on Monday, December 7. The ship is out at sea for the first time to undergo sea trials.
7 photos: USS Zumwalt begins sea trials
The USS Zumwalt, the Navy's biggest and most expensive destroyer ever built, heads out into the Atlantic Ocean on Monday, December 7. The ship is out at sea for the first time to undergo sea trials. 
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The USS Zumwalt leaves the Kennebec River in Phippsburg, Maine, on December 7. The ship and its class are named in honor of Adm. Elmo R. "Bud" Zumwalt Jr., who served as chief of naval operations from 1970 to 1974.
7 photos: USS Zumwalt begins sea trials
The USS Zumwalt leaves the Kennebec River in Phippsburg, Maine, on December 7. The ship and its class are named in honor of Adm. Elmo R. "Bud" Zumwalt Jr., who served as chief of naval operations from 1970 to 1974.
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Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work speaks with the Zumwalt crew during a visit to Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine, on May 12. Work toured the ship and observed its progress. One thing that sets the $3 billion ship apart is its very small crew. Compared with about 300 sailors needed for similar warships, the Zumwalt's minimum compliment is only 130. The smaller crew is made possible by advanced automated systems which "make it much easier and much more effective for the sailor to operate," says former Navy Capt. Wade Knudson, who now serves as Zumwalt program director for Pentagon contractor, Raytheon.
7 photos: USS Zumwalt begins sea trials
Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work speaks with the Zumwalt crew during a visit to Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine, on May 12. Work toured the ship and observed its progress. One thing that sets the $3 billion ship apart is its very small crew. Compared with about 300 sailors needed for similar warships, the Zumwalt's minimum compliment is only 130. The smaller crew is made possible by advanced automated systems which "make it much easier and much more effective for the sailor to operate," says former Navy Capt. Wade Knudson, who now serves as Zumwalt program director for Pentagon contractor, Raytheon. 
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Mouzetta Zumwalt-Weathers christens the Zumwalt during a ceremony at Bath Iron Works on April 12, 2014.
7 photos: USS Zumwalt begins sea trials
Mouzetta Zumwalt-Weathers christens the Zumwalt during a ceremony at Bath Iron Works on April 12, 2014.
Hide Caption
4 of 7
The ship is floated out of dry dock at the Bath Iron Works shipyard on October 28, 2013.
7 photos: USS Zumwalt begins sea trials
The ship is floated out of dry dock at the Bath Iron Works shipyard on October 28, 2013.
Hide Caption
5 of 7
The 1,000-ton deckhouse is craned toward the deck of the ship to be integrated with the its hull at Bath Iron Works on December 14, 2012.
7 photos: USS Zumwalt begins sea trials
The 1,000-ton deckhouse is craned toward the deck of the ship to be integrated with the its hull at Bath Iron Works on December 14, 2012.
Hide Caption
6 of 7
Retired Marine Corps Lt. Col. James G. Zumwalt, left, assists welder Carl Pepin as he inscribes a steel plate at a keel laying ceremony at Bath Iron Works on Thursday, November 17, 2011.
7 photos: USS Zumwalt begins sea trials
Retired Marine Corps Lt. Col. James G. Zumwalt, left, assists welder Carl Pepin as he inscribes a steel plate at a keel laying ceremony at Bath Iron Works on Thursday, November 17, 2011.
Hide Caption
7 of 7
The USS Zumwalt, the Navy's biggest and most expensive destroyer ever built, heads out into the Atlantic Ocean on Monday, December 7. The ship is out at sea for the first time to undergo sea trials.
7 photos: USS Zumwalt begins sea trials
The USS Zumwalt, the Navy's biggest and most expensive destroyer ever built, heads out into the Atlantic Ocean on Monday, December 7. The ship is out at sea for the first time to undergo sea trials. 
Hide Caption
1 of 7
The USS Zumwalt leaves the Kennebec River in Phippsburg, Maine, on December 7. The ship and its class are named in honor of Adm. Elmo R. "Bud" Zumwalt Jr., who served as chief of naval operations from 1970 to 1974.
7 photos: USS Zumwalt begins sea trials
The USS Zumwalt leaves the Kennebec River in Phippsburg, Maine, on December 7. The ship and its class are named in honor of Adm. Elmo R. "Bud" Zumwalt Jr., who served as chief of naval operations from 1970 to 1974.
Hide Caption
2 of 7
Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work speaks with the Zumwalt crew during a visit to Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine, on May 12. Work toured the ship and observed its progress. One thing that sets the $3 billion ship apart is its very small crew. Compared with about 300 sailors needed for similar warships, the Zumwalt's minimum compliment is only 130. The smaller crew is made possible by advanced automated systems which "make it much easier and much more effective for the sailor to operate," says former Navy Capt. Wade Knudson, who now serves as Zumwalt program director for Pentagon contractor, Raytheon.
7 photos: USS Zumwalt begins sea trials
Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work speaks with the Zumwalt crew during a visit to Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine, on May 12. Work toured the ship and observed its progress. One thing that sets the $3 billion ship apart is its very small crew. Compared with about 300 sailors needed for similar warships, the Zumwalt's minimum compliment is only 130. The smaller crew is made possible by advanced automated systems which "make it much easier and much more effective for the sailor to operate," says former Navy Capt. Wade Knudson, who now serves as Zumwalt program director for Pentagon contractor, Raytheon. 
Hide Caption
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Mouzetta Zumwalt-Weathers christens the Zumwalt during a ceremony at Bath Iron Works on April 12, 2014.
7 photos: USS Zumwalt begins sea trials
Mouzetta Zumwalt-Weathers christens the Zumwalt during a ceremony at Bath Iron Works on April 12, 2014.
Hide Caption
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Story highlights

  • The USS Zumwalt is the first of the Navy's newest class of destroyers and will be commissioned this fall
  • Capt. James Kirk and his crew will test the ship's array of futuristic systems until then
(CNN)Capt. James Kirk just got the keys to the baddest ship in the fleet -- U.S. Navy's fleet, not Starfleet.
The ship is the future USS Zumwalt, the first of the Navy's newest class of destroyers, and contractor General Dynamics turned it over to the Navy on Friday at Bath Iron Works in Maine.
Capt. James A. Kirk
Capt. James A. Kirk
The ship will be commissioned -- and officially become the USS Zumwalt -- on October 15 in Baltimore. Until then, Capt. Kirk (U.S. Navy, not United Federation of Planets) and his crew will test the ship's array of futuristic systems.
"Zumwalt's crew has diligently trained for months in preparation of this day and they are ready and excited to take charge of this ship on behalf of the U.S. Navy," Kirk said in a Navy press release. "These are 143 of our nation's finest men and women who continue to honor Admiral Zumwalt's namesake with their dedication to bringing this ship to life."
See why Navy paid billions for this
See why Navy paid billions for this 01:19
The 610-foot, 15,700-ton warship "is a stealthy ship with a minimal radar signature and an intrinsically quiet tumblehome hull form and wave-piercing bow," General Dynamics says.
    The ship can generate 78 megawatts of power making it "suitable for deployment of directed energy beam weapons and the electromagnetic railgun, both of which are under intensive development," General Dynamics said in a statement.
    "This impressive ship incorporates a new design alongside the integration of sophisticated new technologies that will lead the Navy into the next generation of capabilities," said the Navy's program manager for the Zumwalt class of destroyers, Rear Adm. (select) Jim Downey.
    For now, the future Zumwalt will be equipped with guns that can fire projectiles up to 63 miles and cells for 80 Tomahawk, Sea Sparrow and Standard missiles along with anti-submarine rockets.
    Two more Zumwalt-class ships, the future Michael Monsoor and Lyndon B. Johnson, are under construction in Maine. Cost of the three ships is expected to total about $22.5 billion.
    The high price tag per ship stems from the fact that the Navy will now only build three of the Zumwalt class, down from 32 originally envisioned. That means the Pentagon can't spread research and development costs out over a large fleet.
    As numbers have dwindled, many defense analysts question the long-term value of the Zumwalt. The Navy is now focusing on an updated version of the current -- and more conventional -- Arleigh--Burke class destroyers.
    The program isn't impressing at least one Russian commentator, retired Col. Viktor Baranets, who told state-run Radio Sputnik: "One U.S. nuclear submarine, the newest in the fleet, costs about $2.2 billion. In other words, they used the budget for two nuclear subs to build one Zumwalt. What can be said? Americans love grandiose projects which sometimes go beyond the scope of reason."
    CNN's Jim Sciutto contributed to this report.
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