US Navy DDG 1000 Zumwalt Class

NikeX said:

The Zumwalt class is designed to accept directed energy weapons, railguns, and other exotic technologies with its Integrated Power System (IPS)

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Huntington Ingalls said:

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Huntington Ingalls Industries announced that the company's Ingalls Shipbuilding division has delivered the composite deckhouse for the destroyer Zumwalt (DDG 1000) to the U.S. Navy.

The 900-ton deckhouse provides an advanced structure to house the ship’s bridge, radars, antennas and intake/exhaust systems and is designed to provide a significantly smaller radar cross-section than any other ship in today's fleet.

"This is a significant delivery in the history of Ingalls Shipbuilding", said DDG 1000 Program Manager Steve Sloan. "Building composite ship structures takes a very unique skill-set and work ethic, and the men and women in Gulfport have done an outstanding job. This is one of the largest carbon composite structures ever built, and we are delivering a fine product with the utmost quality"

Ingalls is building the composite deckhouse and hangar for the DDG 1000 class at the company's Composite Center of Excellence in Gulfport. Made almost exclusively using cored composite construction processes, the deckhouse and hangar take full advantage of the properties of carbon fiber materials and balsa wood cores. When cured, the composite structure is as strong as steel but requires little maintenance and is very lightweight. These unique attributes reduce maintenance cost over the life span of the ship due to its corrosion resistance in the marine environment and allow for improved hull stability, more payload and increased ship speeds. The Gulfport facility also builds composite masts for the Navy's San Antonio (LPD 17) class of amphibious ships.

The deckhouse structure will be integrated to join the other eight of nine "ultra units" making up DDG 1000. This is a process that is similar to the integration process already used with the LPD masts. Steel base plates that are bolted to the composite structure will be welded to the steel hull of DDG 1000. Ingalls delivered the composite hangar and the aft peripheral vertical launch system units for DDG 1000 and has begun work on the composite components for DDG 1001.

"We are incredibly proud of this deckhouse and all the hard work that has gone into making it a reality for the Navy," said Jay Jenkins, site director for Gulfport. "We started this project in January of 2009 and fought our way through all the challenges with professionalism, dedication and commitment, but we do hard things right, and this is proof of that fact."

The DDG 1000 Zumwalt-class destroyer is the U.S. Navy's next-generation guided-missile destroyer, leading the way for a new generation of advanced, multi-mission surface combat ships. The ships will feature a low radar profile, an integrated power system and a total ship computing environment infrastructure. Armed with an array of weapons, the Zumwalt-class destroyers will provide offensive, distributed and precision fires in support of forces ashore.

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Jeff Head said:

When the rail guun and laser CIWS are ready, yes, it is likely they will be added.

I have threads on both of those projects here on SD.

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icbeodragon said:

Gotta admit, that is absolutely out of this world, to see a ship coming online that was built to have railguns and lasers installed!

I sincerely hope I get to watch a demonstration of these technologies on the Zumwalt class.

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Military.com said:

USS Zumwalt Integrates Deckhouse

BATH, Maine -- The Navy's next generation destroyer, the future USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000), completed a major ship milestone with the successful lift and integration of the deckhouse on to the ship's hull Dec. 14.

The 1,000-ton deckhouse was fabricated by Huntington Ingalls Industries in Gulfport, Miss., and delivered to the Navy in October 2012. The deckhouse was then transported to Bath, Maine for integration with the ship's hull, which is under construction at General Dynamics Bath Iron Works.

"This is a major milestone for the program as this ship construction progresses," said Capt. Jim Downey, DDG 1000 class program manager, Program Executive Office (PEO) Ships. "The successful integration of the deckhouse and hull is a testament to the tremendous design and planning efforts that were instrumental to this program."

With the successful lift and integration of the deckhouse, 9 of 9 ultra units are now on land level at BIW.

"The industry government team meticulously planned the 100' static lift of the deckhouse and translation of the 610' hull into position under the deckhouse," said Downey. "The deckhouse was then lowered into position and the resulting ship moved back into the construction position on the land level facility. Working with our industry partners, we look forward to delivering this highly capable ship to the Fleet."

Construction on DDG 1000 began in February 2009 and is currently 80 percent complete, with ship launch and Christening planned for 2013. The ship is scheduled to deliver in 2014 with an initial operating capability in 2016. Zumwalt will be 610 feet in length, have a beam of 80 feet, displace approximately 15,000 tons, and will have a crew of 130 officers and sailors plus an air detachment. The deckhouse, which is built from steel and composite materials, is 155 feet long and over 60 feet high and will house the ship's bridge, radars, antennas and intake and exhaust systems.

Progress on the DDG 1000 Zumwalt class guided missile destroyers continues to go very well, with all three ships now under construction. Construction on the second ship of the class, Michael Monsoor, began in 2010 with delivery planned in 2016. DDG 1002, the future USS Lyndon B. Johnson, is expected to deliver to the Navy in 2018.

The multi-mission 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.

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asif iqbal said:

Nice, by the time they are delivered Royal Navy will be close to having a carrier task force sailing the high seas

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