The third and final Zumwall-class destroyer left the docks of the General Bath Steel Works Shipyard in Maine.
"Lyndon M. B. Johnson (DDG-1002), after completing the first part of the Zumwall two-part delivery program, sailed along the Kennebek River, left the shipyard, and is currently heading for the Atlantic Ocean.
According to a statement from the shipyard, "In November 2021, the Navy officially accepted the General Dynamics Bass Steel Works" Lyndon M. Completion of production and testing activities for the B. Johnson (DDG-1002). ”
"In the summer of 2021, during the dock and sea trials, the Navy conducted extensive tests, trials and demonstrations of the ship's system and accepted the completion acceptance of the hull, mechanical and electrical (HM&E)."
"Lyndon M. B. Johnson is now on to the Ingalls Shipbuilding Company in Pascagora, Mississippi, to activate the combat system and finally complete the delivery of the ship's radar and weapons systems.
Having said that, the ship's two Advanced Artillery Systems (AGS) have been decided to be cancelled and are not expected to be activated
The 28-inch (710 mm) wide MK-57 side vertical launch system (PVLS) on the Zumwalt-class guided-missile destroyers is currently the only one, and the future main force of the U.S. military is the Mk 41 and thicker new vertical hair systems. Designed to launch hypersonic missiles with a diameter of 34.5 inches (876.3 mm).
The U.S. Navy's Conventional Rapid Strike Program (CPS) is the U.S. Navy's hypersonic weapons program, ready to be installed on surface ships and submarines, and is currently scheduled for surface ships 2025 and submarines 2028
Two other ships of the class—the HMS Zumwalt (DDG-1000) and the USS Michael Monsour (DDG-1001)—were transferred from Maine to San Diego, California, to complete the activation of the combat system.
The U.S. Navy will postpone the acceptance of the "Lyndon W. Bush" The B. Johnson was delivered until the combat system was fully installed and tested.
A June 2021 report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office read: "Project managers said this new approach could lead to additional schedule delays; however, it would free up valuable dock space at Naval Base San Diego, allowing the Navy to avoid moving crew to the DDG-1002 until the DDG-1002 is ready for service." ”
The project manager believes that this change is a response to the lessons learned from the DDG-1000 and 1001 - specifically, the activation and eventual construction of the completion of the combat system has become complicated due to the crew on board, in part due to more restrictions on access to space. ”
According to U.S. Naval Institute News, the vessel is expected to be delivered in 2024.
By 2025, the Zumwalt class will be the first platform for the U.S. Navy to deploy hypersonic weapons, replacing one or two of the 155mm advanced gun systems with larger units to accommodate missiles, according to naval academy news. It's unclear which Zumwalt class will deploy these weapons first.
The current plan is to dismantle two naval guns and replace them with four such Virginia Payload Module (VPM) launchers, each capable of firing three of the aforementioned hypersonic missiles, for 12 rounds.
For Bath Steel Shipyard, "Lyndon M. The departure of the USS B. Johnson will free up space for the Maine plant, leaving the workforce focused on the remaining Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers under construction.
Burke III still had to be built
Over the past few years, the three 16,000-ton Zumwalts have stretched the shipyard's capabilities to the limit, leading to delays in vessel deliveries.
The Bath Iron Works is currently building the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer Carl B. Bush. M. Levine (DDG-120), John Basilon (DDG 122), Harvey S. Lee Jr. C. Barnum (DDG-124) and Patrick Gallagher (DDG-127) and Flight III configured destroyer Louis S. Louis H. Wilson Jr. (DDG-126), William Sharat (DDG-130) and Quentin Walsh (DDG-132).
Ali Burke III DDG-125 Jack H. Lucas started construction at the HII Huntington Ingalls Industries shipyard in November 2019 and launched on June 5, 2021, the 75th Burke class, with 14 to be built so far, at least until DDG-139
The U.S. Navy has transferred its affection to DDG(X), this ship and the "Zumwalt" class only have some relationship with the hull (the bow is changed to the traditional configuration), the weapon system is Ari Burke Flight III, which shows that the U.S. Navy is very dissatisfied with the "Zumwalt" class
The rusty first ship of the Zumwalt class