Want to see “the latest thing in intimidating, high tech maritime awesomesomeness?”
Those are the words of Jessica Tozer on the Department of Defense’s Armed with Science blog in describing the DDG 1002 Zumwalt Class Warship that you see above.
The Zumwalt, taking shape at Bath Iron Works, is the biggest destroyer ever built for the U.S. Navy.
From Tozer:
The ship is designed as a multi-mission destroyer able to provide independent forward presence and deterrence. It’s also designed to operate as an integral part of a joint or multi-national naval task force. The primary mission emphasis is on land attack, maritime dominance and joint interoperability. This will enable the DDG 1000 to control the littoral battlespace and deliver more ordnance on target over a broader range of military objectives than any surface combatant ever put to sea.
Basically, it’s a multi-purpose, water-treading, techno-ship capable of handling multiple situations with equal levels of stealth, firepower and let’s face it, finesse. No other ship balances power and class on the high seas quite like this baby.
The Zumwalt’s new technology will allow the warship to deter and defeat aggression and to maintain operations in areas where an enemy seeks to deny access, both on the open ocean and in operations closer to shore, the Navy says. The warship is looking to get some pretty sweet features, too. We’re talking a wave-piercing hull, electric drive propulsion, and advanced sonar.
Oh, and let’s not forget the rocket-propelled warheads that can shoot as far as 100 miles.
