The US Navy accepted delivery of USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) on April 24, after the first of three “super-stealth” destroyers completed the combat systems activation.
Following this delivery, the ship will transition to the next phase of developmental and integrated at-sea testing, the US Naval Sea Systems Command said in a statement.
The ship was originally delivered to the navy in May 2016 and commissioned in October of the same year. Zumwalt-class ships are delivered through a two-phase approach in which combat systems are installed and activated after hull, mechanical and electrical delivery.
Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems was the prime contractor for the Zumwalt combat system, and has lead activation and integration for Zumwalt class ships both in Bath, Maine and San Diego.
“Delivery is an important milestone for the Navy, as DDG 1000 continues more advanced at-sea testing of the Zumwalt combat system,” said Capt. Kevin Smith, DDG 1000 program manager, Program Executive Office, Ships. “The combat test team, consisting of the DDG 1000 sailors, Raytheon engineers, and Navy field activity teams, have worked diligently to get USS Zumwalt ready for more complex, multi-mission at-sea testing. I am excited to begin demonstrating the performance of this incredible ship.”
With delivery, USS Zumwalt joins the US Pacific Fleet battle force and remains assigned to Surface Development Squadron One, a re-designated squadron that will be in charge of integrating unmanned surface vessels (USV) and support fleet experimentation.
The 610 foot ships feature a wave-piercing tumblehome ship design while the shape of the superstructure and the arrangement of antennas significantly reduce radar cross section, making the ship less visible to enemy radars.
“Every day the ship is at sea, the officers and crew learn more about her capability, and can immediately inform the continued development of tactics, techniques, and procedures to not only integrate Zumwalt into the fleet, but to advance the Navy’s understanding of operations with a stealth destroyer,” remarked Capt. Andrew Carlson, the Commanding Officer of USS Zumwalt. “After sailing over 9000 miles and 100 days at sea in 2019, we are absolutely looking forward to more aggressive at-sea testing and validation of the combat systems leading to achievement of initial operational capability.”
The USS Zumwalt is the first ship of the Zumwalt-class destroyers. The USS Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001) is homeported in San Diego and is undergoing combat systems activation. The third and final ship of the class, the future USS Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG 1002), is under construction at BIW’s shipyard in Bath, Maine.
