The newest US destroyer USS Michael Monsoor DDG-1001 of the Zumwalt project left the shipyard in December and began the first stage of sea trials. The ships and crew check the operation of the main systems.
The ship is named in memory of Navy officer Michael Monsourt, who died in Iraq in 2006. He was part of a joint squad of "Navy SEALs" and the local military. Monsour covered a grenade thrown by the rebels with his body. At the cost of his life, the officer saved three commandos and eight Iraqi fighters. In April 2008, George W. Bush signed a decree awarding Michael Monsour the Medal of Honor posthumously. During his lifetime, he managed to receive the Bronze and Silver Stars for his service in Iraq.
This is the business of the Americans, but it was hardly worth the name of such a hero to name a ship that was launched according to a deliberately failed project ("Special Troika"). American sailors have already nicknamed the destroyer "iron", not only because of the specific appearance, but also because of, to put it mildly, mediocre seaworthiness.
Rails to nowhere
By some irony, almost simultaneously with the announcement of the start of sea trials of the second Zumvolt-class destroyer, it became known about the intention of the American military to abandon railguns - electromagnetic guns, which were supposed to become the main weapon of these ships. It was actually designed for them.
A working model that could be transferred to military trials was never created. But they riveted her for 12 years. The idea cost $ 500 million, but the project was never brought to the required parameters. Most likely it will be closed.
For the sake of objectivity, it should be said that the railgun, created by order of the US Navy, works, but instead of the ten rounds per minute set by the military, it provides only four. In addition, there is information about the extremely low resource of the main details of the installation, although the developers hide information about the number of uses of the gun until the replacement of components.
However, if the railgun corresponding to the technical specifications of the military was issued, its use on the Zumvolts would be extremely problematic due to the insufficient power of the ship's power plant. To fire, it would be necessary for this time to de-energize all other systems of the ship, in fact making it blind and deaf.
But as we can see, now this problem is irrelevant. But the question arose: what, in fact, to equip the "ship of the future"?
Toothless storm of the seas
Strictly speaking, the replacement of laser or electromagnetic guns with traditional missile and artillery systems raised the question of a radical revision of the entire project, but there was no time or money for this. The project of the "destroyer of the future" and so cost the American taxpayers $ 22 billion. The cost of the "Zumvolt" itself is seven billion, more expensive than the aircraft carrier "Nimitz", the last commissioned by the US Navy, and it was absolutely impossible to add anything else.
Therefore, the weapon system was molded from what was, in a hurry. As a result, there was no place in the arsenal for anti-ship missiles, which are mandatory today for projects claiming versatility. The destroyer can only oppose competitors with artillery systems of 155 mm caliber - powerful, but not fast enough (10 rounds per minute).
In addition, Zumvolt has twenty TLUs for Tomahawk cruise missiles, of which there are 80 units in ammunition. Was it worth it to start a fuss? For, say, modernized Ohio-class nuclear submarines carry 154 Tomahawks, and the cost of their re-equipment is about four times less. According to the terms of reference, one of the main functions of "Zumvolt" is anti-missile and air defense. These tasks are supposed to be solved with the help of the RIM-162 ESSM missiles, which have a range of up to 50 kilometers and an interception ceiling of up to 15 kilometers, which is clearly not enough for such a powerful ship, especially for solving problems of covering an aircraft carrier group or area.
Invisible and blind
In addition, it should be noted that radar systems provide only half of the military power declared in the technical requirement. As far as protection is concerned, the destroyer has no armor. It has a Kevlar Citadel Reinforcement capable of retaining shrapnel. But it will not save Russian missiles with armored warheads. The launchers are not protected and can be damaged even from a large-caliber machine gun, which, for example, are armed with some boats of Somali pirates.
The main highlight of the destroyer is its "invisibility" or rather, stealth for radio-technical surveillance, achieved due to the special geometry of the hull and superstructure - extremely smooth, tapering upward, giving the ship a futuristic look, and a special absorbing coating. Thanks to this and the Stealth technology, the 183-meter long ship looks like a single-masted sailing vessel on the radar. For the same purposes, the destroyer received a ram stem, which should "cut the wave."
By its contours, "Zumvolt" strongly resembles casemate battleships of the monitor type during the Civil War in the United States and with similar seaworthiness. It is noteworthy that the ex-chief of staff of the US Navy, Admiral Gary Rafhead, back in 2008, when the construction of the first ship was just beginning, declared its uselessness. He pointed to poor seaworthiness, poor security, and the absence of the weapon for which the project was started. However, the leadership of the US Navy and the structures that lobbied for the project had their own reasons.
The Navy loves the Trinity
After multiple delays and scandals, the lead Zumvolt officially entered the fleet on October 15, 2016, however, according to official statements, its participation in combat operations is possible no earlier than 2018. But this also raises doubts, given the numerous ship breakdowns occurring literally from scratch.
The real, tactical niche of this ship is still a mystery. If we consider these destroyers as just a platform for launching Tomahawks, a kind of gunboat in a modern version, then all their innovative expensive options seem clearly redundant. A more logical and understandable option is Zumvolt as a floating laboratory, where advanced technologies will be tested and tested. One such "platform" is more than enough. But as we can see, the American defense industry still intends to fulfill the minimum program and put into operation three such ships, and initially it was planned to build 32. The third sample, the Lyndon B. Johnson, was laid down a year ago at the Bath Iron Works shipyard. It will be the last in the Zumwalt series. Why replicate an obviously crude and unfinished design three times? The answer is clearly not in the military or scientific spheres, but in a purely commercial plane.
