The USS Zumwalt, defined as the most powerful ship ever designed by man, will have to forsake its tower twisted by 155 millimeters due to the cost of each single bullet: 800 thousand dollars, by default.
First things first.
The USS Zumwalt, destroyers capable of engaging targets a hundred miles away with electromagnetic guns and with such a small signature to appear on radar with the size of a fishing vessel, was officially handed over to the US Navy two weeks ago. The leader of the class Zumwalt, is the largest and most powerful US Navy destroyer ever built.
The cost of the whole program is 23 billion dollars. The total cost of procurement for the three ships is estimated at 13,2 billion dollars, about 4,4 billion dollars per boat. The second ship, the Michael Monsoor, will be delivered in November next year, a few months late from the original timeline. The decision was taken due to the complexity of the project for the class defined as the most powerful in the world. The third and last ship of the class, the Lyndon B. Johnson, will be delivered in December of the 2018.
The most powerful US Navy destroyer ever built, was designed, engineered and armed for the war of the future at an exorbitant cost: 4,4 billion dollars per boat, about three times the cost of a current destroyer for a total cost of 13,2 billions of dollars for three ships (on the 32 planned initially). From 2009 to 2015, the cost of each boat increased by 34,4%. It should be noted that everything on the Zumwalt is unique. His stealth profile, for example, should make it invisible to enemy radars. Despite being the 40% larger than a Arleigh Burke, has a RCS (Radar Cross-Section) of a fishing boat. The destroyer Zumwalt reintroduces the camber: the maximum width of the ship is on the waterline, while proceeding upwards the hull begins to shrink.
Its unusual hull then, has been designed with wave penetration or wave-piercing technology for a maximum speed of 30 nodes (56 km / h). It has been designed to pour a devastating fire capacity even if seriously hit. The class Zumwalt is armed with eighty cruise missiles Tomahawk (displaced on various Vls Mk 57 advanced pods, along the entire ship so as not to lose missile capability even if hit), two Ags cannons from 155 mm, two from 57 mm and batteries of Sea Sparrow evolved.
And here's the problem.
The system Gun Advanced o Ags deserves a separate discussion. Shoot bullets of eleven kilos, with a margin of error (Cep) of 50 meters, at a maximum distance of 154 km. Each unit would have a capacity of 750 projectiles. The reed of the ADS is cooled to water to prevent overheating, while the rate of fire is ten strokes per minute per weapon. The combined firepower of a pair of turrets would give each class destroyer Zumwalt a firepower of twelve M198 field guns.
Il Long Range Land-Attack Projectile is a precision ammo and is the only one designed for the 'Advanced Gun System from 155 mm of the Zumwalt. Every single bullet costs 800 thousand dollars. Ironically, both the Long Range Land-Attack Projectile that the AGS system has always demonstrated excellent capabilities with three of the ten technological innovations present on board, not sagging critical throughout the development phase. The problem is only on the unit price of ammunition, which is also unsustainable for the most powerful country in the world.
Il Long Range Land-Attack Projectile will be officially canceled in the Program Objective 2018 Memorandum. On 2 November last, the request was officially presented to the Secretary of Defense. The risk now is that the leader of the class Zumwalt it will enter service without a valid alternative to the initially designed 155 mm cannons. Despite this, the 150 ammunition LRLAP purchased for 115 million dollars, will be used for testing. No sum has been added to the budget for LRLP ammunition in the 2016 and 2017 financial statements. One wonders, finally, the interventions and costs necessary to implement a new weapon system. The AGS / LRLAP combination was originally developed to provide a "persistent focus support of precision, able to hit targets inland".
The other weapons of the Zumwalt
Electromagnetic guns have already been tested. We speak of tungsten bullets that reach the target with a speed equal to seven times that of the sound, for a higher power (at a much lower cost) to a Tomahawk missile. This weaponry will give the Zumwalt the role of "true warfighter game changer".
Two Sh-60 / Seahawk (Lamps Mk III) helicopters will be on board for the anti-submarine warfare and three Mq-8 Fire Scouts, unmanned helicopters developed for armed reconnaissance. The size of the ship and the power plant capable of producing 78 megawatts of electricity - enough to power 78 thousand homes - make it an ideal platform for future weapons such as the electromagnetic gun.
The fifteen thousand tons have a margin of growth of 10%, equivalent to additional 1500 tons of future technology to be implemented in the system without altering the boat's performance.
The degree of automation finally reached would be so high that to carry the ship will suffice a crew of 158 members, half of those required for the current generation of destroyers (an 35 years of life could save millions of dollars to 280 taxpayers per ship).
Le Zumwalt they represent the breaking point between the past and the new war scenarios of the future. As well as for the F-22, the only fighter in the world for which the term air supremacy was coined, also the Zumwalt they bear this name. Its electromagnetic weaponry should enable it to impose dominion over any sea and against any enemy. The battle name of the Zumwalt is "Silver Bullet", silver bullet.
The costs of the program Zumwalt
The majestic and unattainable program Zumwalt a fleet of 32s had been designed to be reduced to three. The loss of economies of scale has pushed up the cost of individual ships. The class Zumwalt will introduce the shadow patrols. Considering the investment and the firepower, each Zumwalt it would deserve an independent battle group as it is for aircraft carriers. Other platforms, however, would annul the tactical advantage of a low observable vector. Here's the class then Zumwalt it could be the first unit to be escorted only by attack submarines. Initially, the USS Zumwalt it will be integrated into a battle group of an aircraft carrier. Subsequently, the Zumwalt shadow patrols will start.
(Photo: US Navy)
