Navy's giant, stealthy new destroyer gets hull wet

[unhappycamper]

http://hamptonroads.com/2013/10/navys-giant-stealthy-new-destroyer-gets-hull-wet



Our new $5~$7 billion dollar stealth destroyer

Navy's giant, stealthy new destroyer gets hull wet
The Associated Press
© October 29, 2013

BATH, Maine

There was no band. No streamers. No champagne.

The Navy's stealthy Zumwalt destroyer floated out of dry dock without fanfare Monday night and into the waters of the Kennebec River, where the warship will remain dockside for final construction.

The largest destroyer ever built for the Navy, the Zumwalt looks like no other U.S. warship, with an angular profile and clean carbon fiber superstructure that hides antennas and radar masts.

"The Zumwalt is really in a league of its own," said defense consultant Eric Wertheim, author of the "The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World."



unhappycamper comment: "The Zumwalt is really in a league of its own..." Indeed it is. This is the first destroyer to cost more than a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier.

[HooptieWagon]

1. Construction cost only half that.

The remainder is the R&D cost, which soared per vessel when the order was reduced from 10 ships to 3. Operating costs are projected to be much lower than current destroyers due to small crew requirements and efficient power system.