US Navy Accepts Delivery of Future USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000)
(Source: US Navy; issued May 20, 2016)
The future USS Zumwalt is the US Navy’s first major surface combatant to be designed with stealth characteristics; originally intended for land-attack missions, it is now described as multi-mission. Only two more will be built. (USN photo)
1000), the lead ship of the Navy's next-generation of multimission surface combatants, May 20.
DDG 1000 is tailored for sustained operations in the littorals and land attack, and will provide independent forward presence and deterrence, support special operations forces, and operate as an integral part of joint and combined expeditionary forces.
Ship delivery follows extensive tests, trials and demonstrations of the ship's hull, mechanical, and electrical systems including the ship's boat handling, anchor and mooring systems as well as major demonstrations of the damage control, ballasting, navigation and communications systems.
"Today represents a significant achievement for not only the DDG 1000 program and shipbuilding team but for the entire U.S. Navy," said Rear Adm. (select) Jim Downey, DDG 1000 program manager, Program Executive Office Ships. "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."
The 610-foot, wave-piercing tumblehome ship design provides a wide array of advancements. The shape of the superstructure and the arrangement of its antennas significantly reduce radar cross section, making the ship less visible to enemy radar at sea.
Zumwalt is the first U.S. Navy surface combatant to employ an innovative and highly survivable Integrated Power System (IPS) distributing 1000 volts of direct current across the ship. The IPS' unique architectural capabilities include the ability to allocate all 78 megawatts of installed power to propulsion, ship's service, and combat system loads from the same gas turbine prime movers based on operational requirements.
Each ship in the class features a battery of two Advanced Gun Systems, capable of firing Long-Range Land Attack Projectiles (LRLAP) that reach up to 63 nautical miles, providing three-fold range improvement in naval surface fires coverage. Each ship is equipped with eighty Advanced Vertical Launch System cells for Tomahawk missiles, Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles, Standard Missiles, and Vertical Launch Anti-Submarine Rockets (ASROC) (VLA).
The ship will employ active and passive sensors and a Multi-Function Radar (MFR) capable of conducting area air surveillance, including over-land, throughout the extremely difficult and cluttered sea-land interface.
Following delivery and a crew certification period at General Dynamics-Bath Iron Works, the ship will be commissioned in Baltimore Oct. 15. Zumwalt will then transit to her homeport in San Diego where Mission Systems Activation will continue in parallel with a Post Delivery Availability.
"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," said Capt. James Kirk, commanding officer of future Zumwalt. "These are 143 of our nation's finest men and women who continue to honor Adm. Zumwalt's namesake with their dedication to bringing this ship to life."
BIW is also constructing follow-on ships, the future Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001) and Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG 1002).
As one of the Defense Department's largest acquisition organizations, PEO Ships is responsible for executing the development and procurement of all destroyers, amphibious ships, special mission and support ships, and special warfare craft.
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World’s Greatest Navy Takes Ownership of the World’s Greatest Ship, DDG-1000
(Source: US Navy; issued May 20, 2016)
By Rear Adm. (select) James Downey, DDG-1000 Program Manager
Though ship delivery was not accompanied by a grandiose ceremony, parade or other frills one would expect, its magnitude cannot be denied. This day represents the culmination of years of hard work and unwavering dedication by one of the most talented teams of civilian, military and industry partners. Building a first-of-class ship is no small feat, and this team faced their share of challenges in doing so.
Inspiration, however, was never one of them. Adm. Elmo “Bud” Zumwalt Jr., whose name will forever be inscribed on the ship’s stern, was a man who led by inspiration. He inspired people, ideas, change and innovation, and he was a firm believer that it has always been and will always be the people that set our great Navy apart from the rest. Throughout the 20-year history of this program and its people, inspiration, innovation and purpose have always been the threads that tied the success of this program together. Today marks the culmination of more than two decades of shipbuilding milestones. In the interest of space and time, I offer the abridged version.
This program has come a long way since the preliminary concept designs of the ’90s and the engineering and modeling of the early 2000s. It wasn’t until we started fabrication in 2009 and laid the keel in 2011 that the idea of DDG-1000 started to take shape and become more of reality. With the erection of the deckhouse in 2012 and the arrival of the first crew members in 2013, this ship started to feel more like a warship than a hull.
The last year has been punctuated by program highlights as DDG-1000 prepared for delivery and construction progressed across the other two hulls. Personally, I will never forget the first day Zumwalt got underway – December 7, 2015. The pride (and relief) was overwhelming. We completed two more sets of sea trials in March and April of 2016, ensuring the readiness and quality of the ship we received today.
I’ve learned many valuable lessons throughout my 2,117 days responsible for this program.
-- First and foremost, distance is nothing. Though Bath, Maine, and DC are more than 500 miles apart, the turning of a bolt on the ship moves the gears in the Pentagon and in Congress.
-- Much of the success of this program is based on taking calculated risk and owning that risk. After Adm. Zumwalt assumed his role as CNO, he told his staff, “My basic philosophy is, if a proposed change is in doubt, make it and see what happens. It is easy to get a thousand reasons why you shouldn’t do something…change it and see how loud the screams are.”
-- As practiced by this ship’s namesake, value your people. Technology and capability change by the minute. What doesn’t change is the drive and the dedication of the people you are leading. They are your greatest investment.
As I reflect on this program’s past, present and future, I can tell you what you already know…that shipbuilding is hard. That building DDG-1000 was very hard. But the greatest rewards don’t usually come easily, and those of you building ships that join our Fleet and protect and defend this great country know this. I can say without any doubt that there is nothing more gratifying than being part of the mission of serving this country and those who fight for it. But in truth, we can only do our jobs because of those who have paved the way before us.
Yes, today is a great day for the program and the Navy, and what you’ll see in media headlines is that “DDG-1000 Delivered!” But for members of the DDG-1000 team and me, personally, the fundamental significance of today is about remembering the sacrifices made by our men and women in uniform and our duty to honor it. What we deliver today is more than a tool. It’s more than a capability. It’s a promise of protection and an assurance in a long-standing tradition of maritime power.
Today, we celebrate the world’s greatest Navy taking ownership of the world’s greatest ship.
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Future USS Zumwalt Will Have San Diego Homeport
(Source: US Navy; issued May 20, 2016)
Construction of Zumwalt commenced February 2009 and the ship was launched Oct. 29, 2013. Currently, the ship is conducting hull, mechanical, and electrical tests and trials with a subsequent period to follow for combat and mission system equipment installation, activation, and testing.
The ship is commanded by Capt. James A. Kirk.
DDG 1000 is the lead ship of a class of next-generation multimission surface combatants tailored for land attack and littoral dominance with capabilities to defeat current and projected threats. Zumwalt will triple naval surface fire coverage, add an improved sonar system to track deep and shallow water threats, as well as pace current anti-ship cruise missile threats. For today's warfighter, DDG 1000 fills an immediate and critical naval warfare gap, meeting validated Marine Corps fire support requirements.
The multimission DDG 1000 is tailored for sustained operations in the littorals and land attack, and will provide independent forward presence and deterrence, support special operations forces, and operate as an integral part of joint and combined expeditionary forces. Its multimission design and littoral capabilities make it a 100 percent globally deployable asset to the fleet.
The U.S. Navy continually monitors force readiness and ability to provide the most robust, capable maritime force possible. Stationing destroyers in a West Coast port supports rebalance to the Indo-Asia-Pacific region, placing our most advanced capabilities and greater capacity in that vital theater. By 2020, approximately 60 percent of Navy ships and aircraft will be based in the region.
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