The Navy's latest and most advanced destroyer set underway for sea trials under Captain James Kirk on Monday.
The USS Zumwalt is the first in a three ship line which will cost the Navy upwards of $12.3 billion and promises to usher in a new era of naval warfare, The Washington Post reports. Originally the Zumwalt class was meant to include 32 ships but was eventually cut to only three after costs ballooned. The class is named for former Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Elmo R. "Bud" Zumwalt who served during the Vietnam war. The later two ships will be named for Medal of Honor recipient Michael Monsoor and President Lyndon Johnson.
The destroyer was built by the Bath Iron Works shipyard. It features an aggressive stealth design which is intended to better hide the ship from enemy detection while at sea. It has an innovative new design which uses gas engines to power generators which power the ship's propellers and weapons systems. The Zumwalt class will also be the first class of destroyer to feature the Navy's new rail gun weapon which can launch projectiles at mach 7 with a range up to 110 miles.
The USS Zumwalt will now undergo sea trials to test the 610-foot-long, 15,480-ton destroyer's capabilities. The Navy envisions the Zumwalt as "a multi-mission surface combatant designed to fulfill volume firepower and precision strike requirements," according to a press release. "This advanced warship will enable access in the open ocean, littoral and ashore and provide impressive forward naval presence while operating independently or as an integral part of Naval, Joint, or Combined Expeditionary Strike Forces. Armed with an array of advanced weapons, the DDG 1000 program brings sophisticated new technologies that will deliver evolutionary capability and help shape the future of surface warfare."