USS Zumwalt DDG1000

 

                                                                            

The Zumwalt-class destroyer (DDG-1000) is a planned class of United States Navy destroyers, designed as multi-mission ships with a focus on land attack. The class is a scaled-back project that emerged after funding cuts to the larger DD-21 vessel program. The program was previously known as the "DD(X)". The Zumwalt-class destroyers are multi-role and designed for surface warfare, anti-aircraft, and naval fire support. They take the place of the battleships in filling the former congressional mandate for naval fire support, though the requirement was reduced to allow them to fill this role. The vessel's appearance has been compared to that of the historic ironclad. The DDG-1000 is planned to feature the following: a low radar profile; an integrated power system, which can send electricity to the electric drive motors or weapons, which may someday include railguns or free-electron lasers; total ship computing environment infrastructure, serving as the ship's primary LAN and as the hardware-independent platform for all of the ship's software ensembles; automated fire-fighting systems and automated piping rupture isolation.
The destroyer is being designed to require a smaller crew and be less expensive to operate than comparable warships. It will have a wave-piercing "tumblehome" hull form whose sides slope inward above the waterline. This will reduce the radar cross-section, returning much less energy than a more hard-angled hull form. The lead ship is named Zumwalt for Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, and carries the hull number DDG-1000. Originally 32 ships were planned for the class, but this was progressively cut down to two, with three to be built currently. The Navy expects each ship to cost nearly $3.3bn. The DoD's proposed 2010 budget recommends three DDG-1000 ships being produced.
 Many of the ship's features were developed under the DD21 program ("21st Century Destroyer"), which was originally designed around the Vertical Gun for Advanced Ships (VGAS) . In 2001, Congress cut the DD-21 program by half as part of the SC21 program; to save it, the acquisition program was renamed as DD(X) and heavily reworked. The House of Representatives opposes the DDG-1000 and has cut some funding, preferring to build more Arleigh Burke class destroyers and the new littoral combat ships. The Senate supports the DDG-1000 and continues to approve more funding.Originally, the Navy had hoped to build 32 of these destroyers. That number was later reduced to 24, then to 7, due to the high cost of new and experimental technologies to be incorporated in the destroyer. On 23 November 2005, the Defense Acquisition Board approved a plan for simultaneous construction of the first two DDG-1000 ships at Northrops Ingalls yard in Pascagoula, MS and General Dynamics Bath Iron Works in Bath, ME. However, as of that date, funding had yet to be authorized by Congress. In late December 2005, the House and Senate agreed to continue funding the DDG-1000 program. The U.S. House of Representatives allotted the Navy only enough money to begin construction on one DDG-1000 destroyer as a "technology demonstrator." The initial funding allocation for the DDG-1000 destroyer was included in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2007. However, this was increased to two ships by the 2007 appropriations bill approved in September 2006, which allotted US$2,568m to the DDG-1000 program. On 31 July 2008, U.S. Navy acquisition officials told Congress that the service needed to purchase more Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, and no longer needs the next-generation DDG-1000 class, Only the two approved destroyers would be built.
 The Navy said the world threat picture had changed in such a way that it now makes more sense to build at least eight more Burkes, rather than DDG-1000s. The Navy concluded from fifteen classified intelligence reports that the DDG-1000s would be vulnerable to forms of missile attacks. Many Congressional subcommittee members appeared incredulous that the Navy could have conducted such a sweeping re-evaluation of the world threat picture in just a few weeks, after spending some 13 years and $10 billion on the surface ship program known as DD-21, then DD(X) and finally, DDG-1000. That figure does not include the money spent for the two hulls (DDG-1000 and DDG-1001). Subsequently chief of naval operations Gary Roughead has cited the need to provide area air defense and specific new threats such as ballistic missiles and the possession of anti-ship missiles by groups such as Hezbollah.  On 6 April 2009, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced that DoD's proposed 2010 budget will end the DDG-1000 program at a maximum of three ships. Also in April, the Pentagon awarded a fixed-price contract with General Dynamics to build the three destroyers, replacing a cost-plus-fee contract that had been awarded to Northrop Grumman. The first destroyer is expected to cost around $3.5 billion, the second around $3.5 billion, and the third less than that. In late 2005, the program entered the detail design and integration phase, for which Raytheon is the Mission Systems Integrator. Both Northrop Grumman Ship Systems and General Dynamics Bath Iron Works share dual-lead for the hull, mechanical, and electrical detail design. BAE Systems Inc. has the advanced gun system and the MK57 VLS. Almost every major defense contractor (including Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman Sperry Marine, L-3 Communications) and subcontractors from nearly every state in the U.S. are involved to some extent in this project, which is the largest single line item in the Navy's budget. During the previous contract, development and testing of 11 Engineering Development Models (EDMs) took place: Advanced Gun System, Autonomic Fire Suppression System, Dual Band Radar [X-band and L-band], Infrared, Integrated Deckhouse & Apertures, Integrated Power System, Integrated Undersea Warfare, Peripheral Vertical Launch System, Total Ship Computing Environment, Tumblehome Hull Form.
The decision in September 2006 to fund two ships meant that one could be built by both Bath Iron Works in Maine and by Northrop Grumman's Ingalls Shipbuilding in Mississippi. On 13 November 2007, Northrop Grumann was awarded a $90m contract modification for materials and production planning. On 14 February 2008, Bath Iron Works was awarded for the construction of the USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000), and Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding was awarded for the construction of the DDG-1001, with price of $1.4 billion each. As of July 2008, the construction timetable looked like this : October 2008 : DDG-1000 starts construction at Bath Iron Works September 2009 : DDG-1001 starts construction at Ingalls April 2013 : DDG-1000 initial delivery May 2014 : DDG-1001 delivery March 2015 : Initial operating capability. In April 2006, the Navy announced plans to name the first ship of the class Zumwalt after former Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Elmo R. Bud Zumwalt Jr. Its hull number will be DDG-1000, abandoning the guided missile destroyer sequence that goes up to DDG-112 (the last of the currently planned Arleigh Burke-class destroyer), and continue in the previous "gun destroyer" sequence left off with the last of the Spruance-class, DD-997 Hayler. DDG-1001 will be named for Master-at-Arms 2nd Class (SEAL) Michael Monsoor, the second SEAL to receive the Medal of Honor in the Global War on Terror (GWOT), the Navy announced on October 29, 2008. 
 Planned features of the DDG-1000.  Stealth: Despite being 40% larger than an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer the radar signature is more akin to a fishing boat and sound levels are compared to the Los Angeles-class submarine. The tumblehome hull reduces radar return and the inclusion of composite materials reducing it still further. Water sleeting along the sides, along with passive cool air induction in the mack reduces thermal emissions. Tumblehome wave piercing hull A return to a hull form not seen since the Russo-Japanese War in 1905, the Zumwalt-class destroyer reintroduces the tumblehome hull form. In this hull form the hull widens from the deck to the waterline instead of flaring from the waterline up to the deck. This was done to reduce the radar return of the hull. The bow is designed to cut through waves rather than ride over them. As mentioned above, the stability in high sea states of this hull form has caused debate among naval architects. Advanced Gun System (AGS) Main article: Advanced Gun System There has been research on extending the range of naval gunfire for many years. Canadian engineer Gerald Bull and Naval Ordnance Station Indian Head tested an 11 inch sub-calibre saboted long-range round in a stretched 16"/45 Mark 6 battleship gun in 1967.
Gun Weapon System Technology Program (AGWSTP) After the battleships were decommissioned in 1992, the AGWSTP became a 5" gun with an intended range of 180 kilometres (110 mi), which then led to the Vertical Gun for Advanced Ships (VGAS). The original DD-21 was designed around this "vertical gun", but the project ran into serious technology/cost problems and was radically scaled back to a more conventional 6.1 inch Advanced Gun System (AGS). One advantage of this move was that the gun was no longer restricted to guided munitions. The Advanced Gun System is a 155 mm naval gun, two of which would be installed in each ship. This system consists of an advanced 155 mm gun and the Long Range Land-Attack Projectile. This projectile is in fact a rocket with a warhead fired from the AGS gun; the warhead weighs 11 kg / 24 lb and has a circular error of probability of 50 meters. This weapon system will have a range of 83 nautical miles (154 km) and the fully automated storage system will have room for up to 750 rounds. The system will be provided with a magazine of 600 rounds or more per weapon and offers a rate of fire of 10 rounds per minute per gun. The barrel is water cooled to prevent over-heating. The combined firepower from a pair of turrets gives Zumwalt-class destroyers firepower equivalent to 18 conventional M-198 field guns. 
 Peripheral Vertical Launch System (PVLS) The Peripheral Vertical Launch System is an attempt to reclaim the prized center space of the hull while increasing the safety of the ship from the loss of the entire missile battery and the loss of the ship in the case of a magazine explosion. The system scatters pods of VLS around the outer shell of the ship having a thin steel outer shell and a thick inner shell. The design of the PVLS would direct the force of the explosion outward rather than ripping the ship in half. Additionally this design keeps the loss of missile capacity down to just the pod being hit. Boat and Helicopter arrangements Two spots will be available on a large aviation deck while boat handling is to be dealt with in a stern mounted boat hangar with ramp, the boat hangars stern location meeting high sea state requirements for boat operations.Dual-band radar The AN/SPY-3 radar will send and receive S-band (high altitude large airspace) and X-band (high altitude near airspace) signals with a common-phase conformal array on the deckhouse. Each band will have its own signal processors, with the returns combined by the display sensor manager. This system is thought to provide high detection and excellent anti-jamming capabilities. But at least one report by Congress' investigative arm, the GAO, raises concerns that it is too much of a technology leap.
  A dual-band sonar controlled by a highly automated computer system will be used to detect mines and submarines. It is claimed that it is superior to the Burke's sonar in littoral ASW, but less effective in blue water/deep sea areas. Hull-mounted mid-frequency sonar (AN/SQS-60) Hull-mounted high-frequency sonar (AN/SQS-61) Multi-function towed array sonar and handling system (AN/SQR-20)
 The DDX proposed to use a Permanent Magnet Motor (PMM) within the hull. An alternate twin pod arrangement was rejected as the ramifications of pod drives would require too much development and validation cost to the vessel. The PMM is considered to be another technology leap and is the cause of some concern along with the radar system from Congress. As part of the design phase, Northrop Grumman had built the world's largest permanent magnet motor, designed and fabricated by DRS Technologies. This proposal was dropped when the PMM motor failed to demonstrate that it was ready to be installed in time. Zumwalt will have Converteam's Advanced Induction Motors (AIM), rather than DRS Technologies' Permanent Magnet-Synchronous Motors (PMM). "...The exact choice of engine systems remains somewhat controversial at this point. The concept was originally for an integrated power system (IPS) based on in-hull permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMMs), with Advanced Induction Motors (AIM) as a possible backup solution. The design was shifted to the AIM system in February 2005 in order to meet scheduled milestones; PMM technical issues were subsequently fixed, but the program has moved on. The downside is that AIM technology has a heavier motor, requires more space, requires a "separate controller" to be developed to meet noise requirements, and produces one-third the amount of voltage. On the other hand, these very differences will force time and cost penalties from design and construction changes if the program wishes to "design AIM out"..."
The Integrated Power System (IPS) is a step both forward and backwards. In some ways similar to the old turbo-electric drive, the addition of PMMs and integration of all electrical power systems gives ten times the power available on current destroyers. It also impacts the ship's thermal and sound signature. The IPS has added to weight growth in the Zumwalt-class destroyer as noted by the GAO. Automated replenishment AGS rounds, food, and other stores, are all mounted in containers able to be struck below to magazine/storage areas by an automated cargo handling system. Manning reductions Automation of the AGS magazines, Fire suppression, and replenishment operations, are all designed to reduce crew on Zumwalt-class destroyers. One of the major contributors to life cycle costs are staffing requirement on a warship. Automated fire suppression system Water spray or mist systems are proposed for deployment in the Zumwalt-class destroyer but the electronic spaces continue to provide a challenge to the designers. Halon/Nitrogen dump systems are preferred but do not work when the space has been compromised by a hull breach. Again this system has been pointed out by the GAO as being a potential problem yet to be addressed.
  The Total Ship Computing Environment Infrastructure (TSCEI) is based on GE Fanuc Embedded Systems' PPC7A and PPC7D single-board computers running Lynuxworks' Lynx RTOS. Controversy Lawmakers and others have questioned whether the Zumwalt class costs too much and whether it provides the capabilities the U.S. military needs. In 2005 the Congressional Budget Office estimated the life-cycle cost of a DD(X) at $3.8-4.0bn in 2007 dollars, $1.1bn more than the Navy's estimate. Specific issues have been raised about the design:  Ballistic missile/air defense capability In January 2005, John Young, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition, was so confident of the DD(X)'s improved air defense over the Burke class that between its new radar and ability to fire Standard Missiles and SM-6, "I don't see as much urgency for [moving to] CG(X)" - a dedicated air defense cruiser. On 31 July 2008 Vice Adm. Barry McCullough (deputy chief of naval operations for integration of resources and capabilities) and Allison Stiller (deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for ship programs) stated that "the DDG 1000 cannot perform area air defense; specifically, it cannot successfully employ the Standard Missile-2 (SM-2), SM-3 or SM-6 and is incapable of conducting Ballistic Missile Defense." Dan Smith, president of Raytheon�s Integrated Defense Systems division, has countered that the radar and combat system are essentially the same as other SM-2-capable ships, "I cant answer the question as to why the Navy is now asserting...that Zumwalt is not equipped with an SM-2 capability". The lack of anti-ballistic missile capability may represent a lack of compatibility with SM-3. In view of recent intelligence that China is developing targetable anti-ship ballistic missiles based on the DF-21, this could be a fatal flaw. On 22 February 2009 James Lyons, the former commander in chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, stated that the DDG-1000's technology was essential to a future "boost phase anti-ballistic missile intercept capability". Missile capacity The original DD21 design, displacing around 16,000 tons, would have accommodated between 117 and 128 VLS cells. However, the final DDG-1000 design was considerably smaller than that of the DD21, resulting in room for only 80 VLS cells. Given the vessel's expected role, the Zumwalt class destroyers will likely carry many more Tomahawk missiles than either the Ticonderoga or Arleigh Burke class ships. 
 
 
 

                                        

 

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