from the more-money-well-spent dept.
El Reg reports
Weird new warship USS Zumwalt has broken down while on sea trials, three weeks ahead of her formal commissioning ceremony.
The futuristic $4.4bn vessel, which features a so-called "tumblehome" hull, suffered a seawater leak into the auxiliary lube oil system for one of her main propeller shafts, according to [U.S. Naval Institute] News.
The defect will take about two weeks to repair at US Naval Station Norfolk, it was said.
An absolute behemoth of a ship, the 16,000 ton Zumwalt--almost three times as big as the UK's already large Type 45 destroyers--was intended to be the lead ship of a new class of warships that would have cemented US naval dominance well into the 21st Century.
Instead, the entire program, supposedly for 36 vessels, was [canceled] after the third ship was laid down, thanks to some seriously eye-watering costs. The US Navy has since started buying new-build Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, the basic design of which dates back to the mid-1980s.
Previous: The Zumwalt Class Destroyer: Another Defense Department Misstep?
Captain James Kirk Takes US Navy's First Stealth Destroyer Out for Sea Trials
(Score: 3, Interesting) by butthurt on Thursday September 22 2016, @10:43PM
The odd shape is said to have been chosen to lessen the ship's so-called "radar signature." Another so-called "stealth" measure is sheets of water pouring down the sides of the ship, intended to lessen infrared emissions. That would be more difficult to do, in my estimation, with a conventional hull that is wider at the deck level than at the so-called "water line."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tumblehome#Modern_warship_design [wikipedia.org]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zumwalt-class_destroyer [wikipedia.org]