Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by on Monday November 28 2016, @01:14AM   Printer-friendly
from the may-return-home-under-its-own-power-one-day dept.

El Reg reports:

The US Navy's most advanced ship yet, the $4.4bn stealth destroyer USS Zumwalt, has had to be ignominiously towed through the Panama Canal after its engines failed yet again.

While cruising down the intercontinental waterway, the crew spotted water leaking from two of the four bearings that link the destroyer's advanced electric engines to its propeller drive shafts. Both engines locked up shortly afterwards, and the ship hit the side of the canal, causing some cosmetic damage.

[...] Repairs are expected to take at least ten days and may mean the ship doesn't get into its home port until next year.

This is the latest in a long litany of failures for the USS Zumwalt that have raised questions over the efficacy of the new class of ships. Originally the US planned a fleet of 32 of the advanced destroyers, but the eye-watering cost of the craft has since seen that cut to just three vessels.

[...] It's natural to get teething problems with a new design, particularly something as revolutionary as the USS Zumwalt. But the Navy has already decided to revert to an older class of destroyer for its fleet upgrade. It seems someone on the general staff actually read Arthur C Clarke's warning tale Superiority .

Previously: USS Zumwalt Breaks Down During Sea Trials

[Ed note. Superiority, linked above, is a science fiction classic; well worth reading.]


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 28 2016, @02:57AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 28 2016, @02:57AM (#433888)

    That "Re:" should indicate that you're responding to a previous comment.
    "WRT" would have been better there.

    -- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]

    Starting Score:    0  points
    Moderation   +1  
       Insightful=1, Total=1
    Extra 'Insightful' Modifier   0  

    Total Score:   1  
  • (Score: 2) by Username on Monday November 28 2016, @11:04AM

    by Username (4557) on Monday November 28 2016, @11:04AM (#433979)

    Did Linksys make the headline?