WASHINGTON (the USA), April 25, 2018, Author: Galina Zdravkova (Bm), Photo: Navy via Bath Iron Works

Second multi-mission stealth destroyer goes to the U.S Navy after successful acceptance trials in February. The announcement about the accepted HM&E (hull, mechanical and electrical) delivery was made on 24th April by the Navy, which means that USS Michael Monsoor (DDG-1001) of the Zumwalt class of guided missile destroyers with a focus on land attack of Bath Iron Works (BIW), Maine is already officially property of the U.S. Navy, reported Defense News.

The delivery of the first lead ship, USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000), took place in 2016. Now both ships need integration of combat systems. It is planned the combat system of Zumwalt to be activated within the coming months, and the one of Monsoor – probably in 2020 according to a schedule received by Defense News.

Capt. Kevin Smith, the program manager for DDG-1000, stated, “Delivery of DDG-1001 marks the culmination of years of dedication and hard work from our Navy and industry team. We have incorporated many lessons learned from DDG 1000 and are proud of the end result. DDG 1001 will be a tremendous asset to the Navy.”

The ship is named after Master-at-Arms 2nd Class (SEAL) Michael Monsoor, awarded posthumously with the Medal of Honour for saving his teammates during a mission in 2006 in Ramadi, Iraq by jumping on a grenade.

A third ship in the class for the US Navy, the Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG-1002), is being built at Bath at the moment.

Initially 32 ships of the kind were planned by the Navy for building and in the course of the years 29 were cancelled due to various reasons.