At the end of October, the lead destroyer of the Zumwalt project was launched at the American shipyard Bath Iron Works. Named after Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000) is one of the most daring projects in recent American naval shipbuilding. Great hopes and high demands are placed on the ships of the new project. The priority of the project and the atmosphere of secrecy surrounding it can be considered the main reasons that the launch of the constructed ship took place without pompous ceremonies and took place under cover of night. According to reports, all celebrations should take place a little later.
Towards the DDG-1000
The history of the Zumwalt project dates back to the early nineties. Then the American naval forces developed requirements for promising ships that were to enter service at the beginning of the 21st century. In connection with such terms of the beginning of the ships' service, promising programs received the designations CG21 (cruiser) and DD21 (destroyer). A little later, the cruiser and destroyer development programs were renamed CG (X) and DD (X). The requirements for the new ships were quite high. Both cruisers and destroyers had to perform a wide range of combat and non-combat missions. Depending on the situation and the need, any of the promising ships had to attack enemy ships or submarines, protect formations from air attacks, evacuate the population from dangerous areas, etc.
Already the first calculations showed that the cost of such a versatile ship may not be within reasonable limits. In this regard, Congress insisted on the closure of one of the programs. Based on the results of the analysis, it was decided to abandon the CG (X) cruisers and focus all efforts on creating destroyers. Thus, after the decommissioning of all Ticonderoga-class cruisers in the US Navy, the destroyers Arleigh Burke and DD (X) were supposed to be used as multipurpose ships with missile weapons.
For financial reasons, one project was closed, and soon the second began to have problems. Full fulfillment of the customer's requirements, according to calculations, should have led to a significant increase in the cost of design and construction of ships. Initially, it was planned to build 32 destroyers of the new type. However, the assessment of their cost and budgetary possibilities led to several reductions in the planned series. Several years ago, Congress cut the Zumwalt destroyer budget to a level sufficient to build only three ships. It is worth noting that after this there were proposals to complete the construction of the lead destroyer and close the too expensive project, but the Pentagon was able to defend three ships. It should also be noted that by the time the design work began on the Zumwalt project, the requirements were changed towards simplification. Because of this, the existing promising project has several major differences from the planned DD (X).
Preparations for the construction of the lead ship DDG-1000 began in the fall of 2008, and the laying ceremony took place in November 2011. At the end of October 2013, the first destroyer of the new project was launched. Preliminary work on the construction of the hull of the second ship DDG-1001 (USS Michael Monsoor) started in September 2009 at Ingalls Shipbuilding. In 2015, it is planned to hand over the lead destroyer to the customer and continue the construction of the following ships. The order of the third destroyer DDG-1002 is planned for the 2018 financial year.
According to reports, the cost of each of the three new destroyers, taking into account the costs of creating the project, could surpass the $ 7 billion mark. For comparison, the new ships of the Arleigh Burke project cost the treasury about 1.8 billion, which is more than three times less than the cost of the Zumvolts. It should be borne in mind that the timing of the construction of the third promising destroyer, which is planned to be ordered only in 2018, may accordingly affect its price. Thus, there is every reason to believe that the total cost of the program will continue to increase.
Ship appearance
The new Zumwalt-class destroyers will serve in the US Navy for the next several decades. It is the groundwork for the future that explains the many original and bold technical solutions that immediately catch the eye. The most noticeable feature of the new ships is their appearance. In the past few decades, engineers have been trying to reduce the signature of ships for radar systems and have achieved some success in this. In the case of the Zumvolt destroyers, lowering visibility became the main task in the design of the hull and superstructure contours. A promising American destroyer looks like a long and narrow platform, in the middle of which there is a superstructure of a complex shape. All the outlines of the ship's surface are a complex system of planes conjugated to each other at different angles.
The hull of the ship has a relatively low side, which provides a decrease in visibility. It should also be noted that the sides are tilted inward. Due to the use of low sides, the authors of the project had to use an original stem of a characteristic shape. Such hull contours provide high running characteristics and at the same time reduce the ship's visibility for radars. In the middle of the 2000s, a demonstration boat AESD Sea Jet was built, on which the capabilities of the hull of the original shape were tested. The test results of the experimental boat showed the correctness of the calculations. Nevertheless, doubts are still expressed about the real characteristics of the new destroyer. There are suspicions that the bow of the ship will be buried in the water.
The ship USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000) turned out to be large: the length of the hull is about 183 meters, the greatest width is 24.6 m. The displacement of the destroyer is approximately equal to 14.5 thousand tons. It is noteworthy that with such dimensions and displacement, the Zumvolt ships turn out to be larger than not only the Orly Burke destroyers, but also the Ticonderoga cruisers.
In terms of their combat capabilities, promising ships should also surpass existing cruisers and destroyers. The abandonment of the CG (X) program led to the transfer of some of the functions previously assigned to the cruisers to the destroyers. Although, in the course of determining the technical and financial appearance of the project, the promising destroyer lost some elements of equipment and weapons, in terms of its characteristics it should be ahead of the ships of the existing types.
The USS Zumwalt uses two Rolls-Royce Marine Trent-30 gas turbine engines with a total capacity of 105,000 hp as the main power plant. The engines are connected to electric generators that supply energy to all of the ship's systems, including two electric motors that rotate the propellers. This architecture of the power plant made it possible to ensure the relatively high running characteristics of the ship. The declared maximum speed of the destroyer exceeds 30 knots. In addition, two generators provide power to all ship systems. The parameters of the electrical system allow in the future, within the framework of modernization, to equip ships with new equipment and weapons.
The main armament of the Zumvolt destroyers is the Mk 57 universal vertical launcher. This system is a further development of a similar Mk 41 launcher used on modern cruisers and destroyers. The Zumwalt ship will carry 20 Mk 57 modules, located in different parts of the hull. Each of the modules has four missile slots. The launcher cell can hold from one to four missiles, depending on their size. It is proposed to load missiles of various types into 80 cells of launchers: anti-aircraft, anti-submarine, etc. The specific composition of the ammunition load will be determined in accordance with the tasks that the ship must perform.
The main anti-aircraft ammunition for Zumwalt destroyers will be the RIM-162 ESSM missile. Earlier it was stated that the ships 'ammunition would include SM-2, SM-3 and SM-6 missiles, but at the moment there is no new information about such ships' weapons. It is possible that work is now underway to prepare missile systems for use on promising destroyers, and the expansion of the available range of weapons will take place only after the lead ship is accepted into the Navy. To attack enemy submarines, Zumvolt-class destroyers will carry RUM-139 VL-ASROC anti-submarine missiles.
An interesting feature of the Zumwalt destroyer weapons complex is the fact that at the moment there is no information about the use of anti-ship missiles. Obviously, the existing RGM-84 Harpoon missiles were considered unsuitable for use on promising destroyers. A similar approach was used in the formation of requirements for the latest series of Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.
In the bow of the DDG-1000 destroyer, it is planned to install two AGS artillery mounts with 155 mm guns. The AGS system is a turret with advanced underdeck units. An interesting feature of this artillery mount is the ammunition. Despite the caliber, the AGS system will not be able to use existing 155 mm ammunition. The LRAPS projectile was created especially for the new shipborne artillery mount. Active-reactive ammunition is similar to a rocket: its length exceeds 2.2 meters, and after exiting the barrel, it must unfold the wings and stabilizer. With its own weight of 102 kg, the projectile will be able to carry an 11-kg warhead. Using inertial and satellite navigation systems, the LRAPS projectile will be able to hit targets at a distance of at least 80 km.
The total ammunition of the two artillery mounts will be 920 shells. In the stowage of the automatic loader of both AGS systems, there will be 600 ammunition. The large length of the projectile made it necessary to apply several interesting solutions in the design and operation of the automatic loader. So, ammunition will be supplied to the gun in an upright position. To do this, before loading the gun barrel must be raised to a vertical position. Shooting is possible with an elevation from -5 ° to + 70 °. The original automatic loader, according to official figures, provides a rate of fire of 10 rounds per minute. The possibility of firing in long bursts is declared.
In the past, it was argued that the Zumwalt destroyers could become the world's first ships to carry an electromagnetic cannon. Such developments already exist, but they are all far from being used in military equipment. One of the main problems of this promising weapon is its colossal energy consumption. When using the power generators installed on the new destroyers, almost all electronic systems would have to be turned off for some time in order to fire from an electromagnetic cannon. It is quite understandable that such features of the work put an end to the use of such systems in practice.
The artillery armament of promising destroyers consists of two AGS installations and two Swedish-made Bofors Mk 110 anti-aircraft guns. It is noteworthy that the caliber of these guns is much larger than the caliber of the previously used anti-aircraft systems. The reason for the use of 57-mm guns can be considered the fact that the power of 20- and 30-mm shells is not enough to guarantee the destruction of modern and promising anti-ship missiles. Thus, the greater power of 57 mm projectiles can compensate for the lower rate of fire at 220 rounds per minute.
In the aft part of the Zumwalt ships there is a hangar for helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles. The destroyers will be able to carry one SH-60 or MH-60R helicopter, as well as up to three MQ-8 drones. Thus, a small aviation group will be able to provide observation of the environment and take over part of the functions of the ship's radio-electronic complex.
To monitor the situation and control weapons, Zumvolt-class destroyers will receive a Raytheon AN / SPY-3 multifunctional radar station with an active phased antenna array. Previously, it was planned to install a second Lockheed Martin AN / SPY-4 radar on new ships, but later it was abandoned. The use of two stations operating in different bands at once was considered too expensive and did not provide a corresponding improvement in performance. Thus, the ships under construction will be equipped with only one radar station.
Zumwalt destroyers will be able to search for submarines and mines. To do this, they will be equipped with three sonar systems AN / SQS-60, AN / SQS-61 and AN / SQR-20. The first two are installed in the ship's hull, the third has a towed hydroacoustic station. It is argued that the characteristics of the sonar complexes of the new destroyers will be significantly higher than that of the equipment of the existing ships of the Arleigh Burke class.
Quality and quantity
Based on the available data, it can be assumed that the promising Zumwalt-class destroyers will become the most advanced among all the ships of the US Navy. Nevertheless, the existing advantages of a technical and combat nature, under certain circumstances, can be completely leveled out by the existing disadvantages. The main disadvantage of the new project is its high cost. The cost of the lead ship, taking into account development costs, is estimated at $ 7 billion. Thus, the new destroyer costs about the same as the last American Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, USS George H. W. Bush (CVN-77). Such a high cost of destroyers caused a dramatic reduction in the planned series.
Even if the austerity congressmen do not push through the abandonment of one or even two Zumwalt-class destroyers, the total number of these ships in the US Navy will remain too small. Only three destroyers - even if their characteristics are head and shoulders above all existing ships - are unlikely to have a serious impact on the overall potential of the Navy. In other words, the latest destroyers are in danger of becoming what is commonly called a white elephant or a suitcase without a handle. An expensive project, the cost of which may look unreasonably high in light of recent funding cuts, while maintaining existing views, will not be able to deliver the expected results in terms of the combat capability of the fleet.
In the context of the Zumwalt project, the Pentagon's plans for ships of the Arleigh Burke project look interesting. According to the statements of recent years, the construction of these destroyers will continue, and they will serve until the seventies of the XXI century. How long the Zumvolt destroyers will serve is not yet entirely clear. Nevertheless, even without taking into account the terms of service, we can confidently say that most of the combat work will fall on the ships of the old project.
In justification of the new ships, it should be said that a large number of new technical solutions and technologies were applied in the Zumwalt project. Therefore, promising destroyers will become a platform for testing equipment, weapons and technologies that will be used on ships of the future.
