SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
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: 2) by scruffybeard on Friday September 23 2016, @03:21PM
No one is arguing that an aircraft carrier isn't a formidable weapon. Like any other tool it has advantages and disadvantages that can be augmented with other types of ships.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Friday September 23 2016, @06:43PM
Not only that, but the aircraft carrier weighs in at over 100,000 DWT, and requires a crew of 5000.
Zumwalt is probably exactly the type of ship that will be sitting between that carrier and the enemy providing air-defense and target pre-softening before those carrier based missile shooters take pilots into harms way.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.