December 5, 2017

Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001), the second of three high-tech, “super-stealth” Zumwalt-class destroyers, got underway from Bath Iron Works to start its first round of sea trials.

The ship started construction in March 2010 and was launched and christened on June 16, 2016, at the General Dynamics shipyard in Bath, Maine.

DDG 1001 is now set to undergo a series of trials before being officially handed over to the US Navy and christened sometime in 2018, provided everything goes as planned.

USS Zumwalt, the lead ship in the class, was commissioned on October 15, 2016, as the largest destroyer the US Navy has ever built, measuring 610 feet in length and displacing well over 14,000 tons.

The Zumwalt-class features a completely new electric propulsion system, wave-piercing tumblehome hull, stealth design, and the latest warfighting technology and weaponry available. Their stealth design makes the ships appear much smaller on radar. The destroyers have a radar cross-section of a fishing boat, according to the Naval Sea Systems Command.

They are the first US Navy combatant surface ships to utilize an integrated power system (IPS) to provide electric power for propulsion and ship services. According to the Navy, the new system generates approximately 78 megawatts of power.

The USS Zumwalt will unfortunately not be firing its 155 mm Long Range Land Attack Projectile (LRLAP) as the shells for the weapon turned out to be too expensive due to the declining number of destroyers that are to be built. Initially, 32 Zumwalt destroyers were supposed to be built. Over the years the number, however, declined to three vessels and a single LRLAP round ended up costing around $800,000.