The floating pyramid of Cheops, as if arriving from another dimension. Which era does this ship belong to? Who created this outlandish design and why? Perhaps everything is much simpler. The appearance reflects the essence - a grandiose financial pyramid that has absorbed over 7 billion dollars at a time.
Definitely, Zamvolt has something to be proud of: the largest and most expensive destroyer in the entire history of this class of ships. And this record will remain at least until the early 2030s. Its ominous silhouette leaves no one indifferent. But what secrets are hidden inside this “starship”?
Stealth? Railgun? Linux?
The missile and artillery stealth ship is being built using the latest technologies, many of which were first introduced in the navy. The key direction was chosen to reduce visibility in the radio wave range of the EM spectrum, in which most detection equipment operates. The architecture and appearance of the Zamvolt aggressively display features of stealth technology.
Pyramid superstructure. Powerful blockage of the sides - due to which radio waves are reflected towards the sky, which eliminates their re-reflection from the surface of the water. Stealth casings for artillery guns. Complete absence of masts, radio-contrast mechanisms and equipment on the upper deck. The bow is a breakwater, which allows you not to “climb the wave”, as ordinary ships do, but, on the contrary, to hide from enemy radars among the crests of the waves. Finally, the entire body of the Zamvolt is finished with ferromagnetic paints and radio-absorbing coatings.
These techniques are well known among shipbuilders around the world. Russian corvettes and frigates of the new generation (for example, Steregushchy), French ships Lafayette, Swedish stealth corvettes of the Visby type... But in the case of Zamvolt, the situation is special: for the first time in the history of the fleet, all elements of stealth technology "were implemented on such a grandiose, all-encompassing scale on such a large ship.
14.5 thousand tons - the size of the destroyer "Zamvolt" will be the envy of other cruisers(as a comparison: the total displacement of the Black Sea Fleet flagship, the missile cruiser Moskva, is “only” 11 thousand tons)
There is no doubt about the effectiveness of techniques to reduce the visibility of enemy radars: stealth technology is widely used in the creation of naval and aviation equipment around the world.
The Zamvolt concept itself is of much greater interest. A missile and artillery destroyer with the dimensions of a cruiser is not a 600-ton Swedish corvette. How to hide such an “elephant” in the middle of an open area?
The creators of Zamvolt explain that this is not about complete invisibility, but only about reducing visibility - as a result, Zamvolt will be able to detect the enemy before he notices the stealth destroyer. Official press releases note that the effective dispersion area (ESR) of a 180-meter destroyer corresponds to the ESR of a small fishing felucca.
Artillery
For the first time in 50 years, an artillery gunship was built. "Zamvolt" is the first and so far the only modern cruiser and destroyer that is armed with cannons with a caliber of over 5 inches. The destroyer's bow carries a pair of 155 mm (6.1 in) automated Advanced Gun System (AGS) mounts that fire precision-guided munitions to a range of 160 km. The total ammunition load of the installations is 920 shells.
The revival of naval artillery is a direct consequence of the discussion about providing fire support to amphibious assault forces and striking the enemy’s coast (more relevant than ever in the era of counter-terrorism operations and local wars).
An artillery shell has a number of important advantages over an aerial bomb or cruise missile:
- all-weather use;
- quick response to calls - within a couple of minutes the specified place will be razed to the ground;
- invulnerability to enemy air defense systems;
- no need for an extremely expensive carrier (a multi-role fighter of 4/5 generations and a trained pilot) - as well as the absence of the risk of losing the carrier on the way to the target;
- much lower cost of shells compared to the Tomahawk cruise missile - with the same capabilities in providing fire support to Marines.
Moreover, the accuracy of modern artillery shells with a GPS or laser beam guidance system is in no way inferior to similar aircraft and missile ammunition.
It is noteworthy that a system with an unusually large caliber was again chosen as an auxiliary artillery system for self-defense of the destroyer - the automatic 57 mm Bofors SAK-57 Mk.3 installation (a pair of such guns is installed in the aft part of the Zamvolta superstructure).
Unlike traditional rapid-fire weapons, the SAK-57 fires only 3-4 rounds per second, but at the same time fires special “smart” ammunition, whose fuses are initiated when flying close to the target. And the power of its shells is sufficient not only for self-defense in the near zone, but also for use in naval combat against boats and other enemy weapons at a range of up to 18 km.
Radars
Initially, a “sophisticated” DBR radar complex with six AFARs operating in the centimeter and decimeter ranges was created for Zamvolt. This provided unprecedented range and accuracy in detecting any type of air, sea or transatmospheric target in Earth orbit - within the DBR radar's field of view.
By 2010, when it became clear that the Zamvolts were too expensive and could not replace existing destroyers, the DBR radar concept was radically reduced. As part of the Zamvolt's detection equipment, only the AN/SPY-3 multifunctional centimeter-range radar with three flat active phased arrays located on the walls of the destroyer's superstructure remained.
3 × MQ-8 Fire Scout UAVs
Zamvolt-class destroyers(English) Zumwalt class guide missile destroyers) is a new class of US Navy missile-armed destroyers (also formerly known as DD(X)), with an emphasis on attacking coastal and land targets. This type is a smaller version of the ships of the DD-21 program, the funding of which was stopped. The first Zumwalt-class destroyer, DDG-1000, was launched on October 29, 2013.
The main weapons of the destroyers of this series are 80 Tomahawk cruise missiles and artillery systems, which predetermines the main task of the destroyers to support ground forces by attacking coastal targets.
The ship uses a promising system for controlling all weapons through Raytheon's TSCE-I, abandoning the concept of local computer systems. The destroyer has stealth capabilities that reduce its EPR by 50 times.
The program is named after Admiral Chief of Naval Operations Elmo R. Zumwalt.
History of design and construction
Sketch: missile launch from the vertical silos of the destroyer Zumwalt
Among US warships under development, the DDG-1000 would precede the Littoral Combat Ship and possibly follow the CG(X) cruiser, competing with the anti-aircraft CVN-21. The DDG-1000 program is the result of a significant reorganization of the DD21 program, the budget of which was cut by Congress by more than 50% (as part of the SC21 program of the 1990s).
The Navy initially hoped to build 32 of these destroyers. This number was later reduced to 24, and then to seven, due to the high cost of new experimental technologies that must be included in the destroyer. The US House of Representatives remains skeptical of this program due to the ship's problems with missile defense systems, as discussed below, as well as the lower stealth and much lower loading of cruise missiles of the Ohio submarines. Although the old converted Ohio class submarines are capable of carrying 154 cruise missiles instead of the 80 missiles of the Zamvolt, the cost of converting an old nuclear submarine is more than half as much. Therefore, initially money was allocated only for the construction of one DDG-1000 for “technology demonstration”.
Initial funding for the destroyer was included in the 2007 National Defense Authorization Act. In 2007, $2.6 billion was allocated to finance and build two Zumwalt-class destroyers.
On February 14, 2008, Bath Iron Works was selected to build USS Zumwalt, numbered DDG-1000, and Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding was selected to build DDG-1001, at a cost of $1.4 billion each. According to Defense Industry Daily, the cost could rise to $3.2 billion per ship, plus $4.0 billion in life cycle costs for each ship.
On July 22, 2008, a decision was made to build only two similar destroyers. A few weeks later, a decision was made to build a third destroyer of this type.
| Name | Number | Shipyard | Bookmark | Launching | Commissioning |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zamvolt USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000) |
1000 | Bath Iron Works | November 17, 2011 | October 29, 2013 | October 16, 2016 |
| Michael Monsour USS Michael Monsoor (DDG-1001) |
1001 | Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding | May 23, 2013 | June 21, 2016 | April 24, 2018 |
| Lyndon B. Johnson USS Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG-1002) |
1002 | Bath Iron Works | January 30, 2017 | 2017 (plan) | 2018 (plan) |
After commissioning, Zamvolt-class destroyers will operate together with Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.
On December 7, 2015, the first of three destroyers, Zamvolt, valued at $4.4 billion by this time, went to sea for sea trials.
The cost of construction of all three destroyers is estimated at $12.73 billion. The total cost of the program, which includes research and development costs in addition to ship construction costs, is estimated at approximately $22.5 billion.
In November 2017, it became known that the United States was partially reducing funding for the project by refusing to create some systems for subsequent ships in the series. In particular, the ship's common computing environment and the Mk57 vertical missile launch system will be abandoned.
Design
General design diagram of the Zamvolt, where its main parts are visible: a single power plant, radar, missile launchers, sonar, and artillery system
Ship control system
Zamvolt's command bridge.
Power plant
The Zamvolt used the method of a universal power plant “turbine-generator-electric motor”, known from the Ohio submarines: the engine rotates only electric generators and then all energy consumers, from the radar to the ship’s propulsors, are electric, that is, the ship moves with electric motors. Instead of a nuclear reactor, the Zamvolts use a diesel gas turbine engine.
However, such a system sharply increases the cost of the propulsion system, reduces its efficiency and reliability, so in the Ohio submarines it was used only for low-speed movement in sneak mode in order to reduce acoustic noise on the propeller shaft gearboxes. Stealth means for the Zamvolt were the core concept of the project, so the same design solution was chosen [ clarify] . However, it was not taken into account that such a system proved to be insufficiently reliable and powerful for movement at cruising speed, so the Ohio switched at cruising speed to the traditional direct supply of force from the turbine to the propeller shaft gearboxes, bypassing two stages of energy conversion. The Zamvolt designers convinced US Navy customers that they had managed to solve the problems of reliability of an installation of this class and that direct mode through gearboxes was not required. But in practice, when trying to use the Zamvolt at full speed, the power plant broke down in less than 1 month of operation and required the ship, deprived of power supply, to be towed for repairs.
Some analysts indicate that perhaps the choice of a single power plant was associated with an experimental gun based on a railgun, which required an extremely large amount of electrical energy. But this weapon has not yet been tested and has not been installed on the ship - a traditional cannon has been used.
Armament
Cruise missiles
Testing of the Zamvolta artillery mount
The main armament of the ship is 20 universal Mk-57 launchers with a total capacity of 80 missiles. The main missile is supposed to be the Tomahawk. The missiles are placed along the sides in PVLS vertical launch systems. According to the designers, this increases the survivability of the ship, since in the event of an emergency rocket explosion, it does not occur inside the ship, but on board with the release of the main energy of the explosion overboard. Critics note that, on the other hand, anti-ship missiles will almost always hit the Zamvolt's ammunition load and the explosion of the anti-ship missiles will be enhanced by the partial detonation of the Tomahawks.
Land-caliber artillery mount
Prototypes of the most exotic artillery system technologies were discussed for the destroyer, including a railgun, but in the end they settled on 155-mm artillery mounts of an unconventional active-rocket design, which provides an increased range of up to 148 km (LRLAP). At such a distance, artillery is capable of accurately hitting the target only with guided projectiles, and the accuracy required is higher than that of cruise missiles, since the mass of the warhead is much less.
To achieve a range of 148 km, it was necessary to lengthen the rocket part of the artillery system’s active-rocket projectile and therefore it does not fit entirely into the artillery breech cradle. The Zamvolta gun must take a vertical position each time for reloading.
But the main reason for criticism from the Pentagon is that the cost of one guided projectile for a gun reached $0.8-1.2 million, and taking into account depreciation and ongoing repairs of the gun, the cost of a shot reached $2 million. In other words, the Zamvolt projectile has become more expensive than the Tomahawk cruise missile, which has an order of magnitude greater range and power (weight) of the delivered ammunition. The US Navy command also doubted the LRLAP program and did not include the purchase of shells for the artillery system in the 2016 and 2017 budgets, and all three planned destroyers of the Zamvolt series have access to only 100 shells produced by the manufacturer for $120 million in 2009. In 2016, the US Navy was considering abandoning the LRLAP guns or changing ammunition, as the current cost of the projectiles was “unacceptable”.
Stealth means
Zamvolt's floating model, on which the designers proved to the US Navy that the destroyer would not capsize in a strong wave
The ship is made with flat beveled surfaces to reflect radiation from enemy radars into the sky, the bow of the ship is beveled like a breakwater also into the sky, since the sharp edge of the bow of the ship is a strong reflector of radio waves. Many American shipbuilding experts immediately stated that the tumblehome profile makes the Zamvolt dangerous for the crew due to reduced stability and, with strong roll, the ship can capsize. Therefore, the smooth operation of the ship's propulsion system is critical for the "dynamic stability of the vessel" due to propulsion, since if the engine breaks down, a stationary vessel may be unstable. In response to this criticism, the ship's designers created a smaller copy of the Zamvolt with an electric motor and demonstrated this model to US Navy customers, proving that the ship was stable.
Zamvolta superstructure. In the photograph, balsa wood panels are visible under the outer cladding for thermal insulation of the structure.
To prevent reflections from small protrusions on surfaces, the vessel is painted with ferrite paint, which has partial properties of a radio-absorbing material.
Service
Incidentssee also
Notes
- DDG 1000 Zumwalt Class Destroyer
- Andrew Tarantola. America's Newest and Deadliest Destroyer Has Finally Set Sail (English). Gizmodo(29 October 2013). Retrieved December 12, 2017.
- Losses in Iraq // “Foreign Military Review”: magazine. - 2008. - No. 8. - P. 76.
- "Zumwalts" today will be like battleships during the Second World War - US Navy command // October 16, 2013
- The admiral called the newest destroyer accepted into the US Navy the Batman ship // Lenta.ru
- Third Zumwalt-class destroyer to be named Lyndon B. Johnson
- David Sharp. Largest Destroyer Built for Navy Headed to Sea for Testing. Associated Press (7 December 2015). Retrieved December 9, 2015.
- Documents were signed on the transfer of the lead destroyer of the DDG-1000 class Zumwalt to the US Navy. Center for Analysis of the Global Arms Trade (TSAMTO)(May 23, 2016). Retrieved May 23, 2016.
- Navy Requires $450 Million More to Complete Zumwalt-Class Due to Shipyard Performance. USNI News (6 April 2016). Retrieved November 27, 2016.
English Zumwalt class guide missile destroyers
A new class of US Navy missile-armed destroyers (also formerly known as DD(X)), with an emphasis on attacking coastal and land targets. This type is a smaller version of the ships of the DD-21 program, the funding of which was stopped. The first Zumwalt-class destroyer, DDG-1000, was launched on October 29, 2013. Destroyers of this series are multi-purpose and are designed to attack the enemy on the coast, combat enemy aircraft and fire support for troops from the sea.
The program is named after Admiral and Chief of Naval Operations Elmo R. Zumwalt.
Story
Among US warships under development, the DDG-1000 would precede the Littoral Combat Ship and possibly follow the CG(X) cruiser, competing with the anti-aircraft CVN-21. The DDG-1000 program is the result of a significant reorganization of the DD21 program, the budget of which was cut by Congress by more than 50% (as part of the SC21 program of the 1990s).
The Navy initially hoped to build 32 of these destroyers. This number was later reduced to 24, and then to seven, due to the high cost of new experimental technologies that must be included in the destroyer. The US House of Representatives remains skeptical of this program (for financial reasons) and therefore initially only allocated money to the Navy to build one DDG-1000 as a "technology demonstration". Initial funding for the destroyer was included in the 2007 National Defense Authorization Act.
However, in 2007, $2.6 billion was allocated to finance and build two Zumwalt-class destroyers.
On February 14, 2008, Bath Iron Works was selected to build the USS Zumwalt, numbered DDG-1000, and Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding was selected to build the DDG-1001, at a cost of $1.4 billion each. According to Defense Industry Daily, the cost could rise to $3.2 billion per ship, plus $4.0 billion in life cycle costs for each ship.
On July 22, 2008, a decision was made to build only two similar destroyers. A few weeks later, a decision was made to build a third destroyer of this type.
Name |
Number |
Shipyard |
Bookmark |
Launching |
Commissioning |
Zamvolt
|
1000 | Bath Iron Works | November 17, 2011 | 29.10.2013 | 2016 (plan) |
Michael Monsour
|
1001 | Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding | May 23, 2013 | 2016 (plan) | 2016 (plan) |
Lyndon B. Johnson
|
1002 | Bath Iron Works | April 4, 2014 | 2017 (plan) | 2018 (plan) |
After commissioning, Zamvolt-class destroyers will be used in conjunction with Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.
On December 7, 2015, the first of three destroyers, Zamvolt, valued at $4.4 billion by this time, went to sea for sea trials.
Design
These ships should receive a new generation power plant, which is a combined diesel-gas turbine engine with full electric propulsion (the “all-electric ship” principle, which uses a common primary source for generating electricity to provide propulsion and power supply to all ship systems without exception).
The hull and superstructure of the ship are surrounded by radio-absorbing materials approximately one inch thick, and the number of protruding antennas has been reduced to a minimum. The composite materials of the superstructure contain wood (balsa).
Thanks to the highest degree of automation, the ship's crew is only 140 people.
The ship's armament consists of 20 Mk-57 universal launchers with a total capacity of 80 Tomahawk missiles, two long-range 155-mm artillery mounts and 30-mm anti-aircraft guns. The destroyer is capable of hosting a helicopter and unmanned aerial vehicles.
The ship's displacement is approaching 15 thousand tons, which makes the Zamvolta the largest modern non-aircraft-carrying warships in the world after the Soviet/Russian nuclear-powered missile cruisers of Project 1144, whose displacement reaches 26 thousand tons.
The cost of the program will be $22 billion for the US Navy (the figure will be adjusted, but it is expected that the increase in costs will not exceed 15%).
TTX
Main characteristics
Displacement: 14,564 long tons (gross)
-Length: 183 m
-Width: 24.6 m
-Draft: 8.4 m
-Reservation: Kevlar protection of individual components is possible
-Engines: 2 x Rolls-Royce Marine Trent-30 gas turbine units
-Power: 78 MW
-Speed: 30 knots (55.56 km/h)
-Crew: 148 people
Armament
Radar weapons: AN/SPY-3
-Tactical strike weapons: 20 x UVP Mk.57 for 80 Tomahawk, ASROC or ESSM missiles
Artillery: 2 x 155 mm AGS guns (920 rounds, 600 of them in automatic loaders)
Anti-aircraft artillery: 2 x 30-mm AU Mk.46
-Missile weapons: RIM-162 ESSM
Anti-submarine weapons: RUM-139 VL-Asroc
Aviation group: 1 x SH-60 LAMPS helicopter
3 x MQ-8 Fire Scout UAV
At the end of October 2013, the lead destroyer of the DD(X) project - DDG-1000 USS Zumwalt (in Russian transcription “Zamvolt” or “Zumvolt”) was launched at the American shipyard Bath Iron Works. The destroyer USS Zumwalt, named after Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, is one of the most unusual and controversial developments in American naval shipbuilding. Great hopes are placed on the ships of this project; the American press has already dubbed them “ships of the future” and “the tomorrow of the American Navy.” However, the overseas press is supposed to sing praises to the US government and the Pentagon, but many military experts fundamentally disagree with the enthusiastic assessments of both this ship and the project as a whole.
The history of the DD(X) project dates back to the nineties of the 20th century. Then the American navy voiced requirements for promising ships that were to enter service at the beginning of the 21st century; These programs were designated CG21 (cruiser) and DD21 (destroyer) - later the cruiser and destroyer development programs were renamed CG(X) and DD(X), respectively. The requirements for the new ships were very high: cruisers and destroyers had to perform a wide range of combat and auxiliary missions. Depending on the situation, any of the promising ships CG(X) and DD(X), as conceived by the US Navy command, could attack enemy ships or submarines, protect land and sea formations from air attack, and, if necessary, launch missile strikes against mechanized or well-fortified enemy units, evacuate the population from areas of natural disasters or countries affected by revolutions, etc.
However, estimate calculations at the pre-design stage showed that the cost of such a “universal” ship is prohibitive. In this regard, the US Congress in 2002 insisted on the closure of one of the programs - based on the results of the analysis, it was decided to abandon the development and construction of CG (X) cruisers and focus on the creation of destroyers. Thus, after the end of service life of all Ticonderoga-class cruisers in the US Navy, destroyers of the Arleigh Burke and DD(X) class were to be used as multi-purpose ships with missile weapons.
The Navy initially hoped to receive 32 DD(X) class destroyers. Later, this number was reduced to 24, and then to only 7 units due to the high cost of new technologies and solutions that must be used in the construction of promising destroyers. The US House of Representatives remains skeptical of this program (mainly for financial reasons) and therefore initially allocated money only for the construction of one(!) DD(X) - DDG-1000, solely for the "technology demonstration" opportunity. However, under pressure from the Pentagon, in 2007, another $2.6 billion was allocated for the construction of the hulls of two more destroyers - DDG-1001 and DDG-1002. This is where the “epic” with the promising destroyers of the DD(X) project ended - and as a result, the initial figure of 32 ships turned into 3 (!) pennants, which, as everyone understands, will not make any difference in the fleet.
Preparations for the construction of the lead ship of the DD(X) series began in 2008, and the laying ceremony took place in November 2011. At the end of October 2013, the first destroyer of the new project, the DDG-1000 Zumwalt, was launched. Preliminary work on the construction of the hull of the second ship DDG-1001 (USS Michael Monsoor) started in September 2009 at Ingalls Shipbuilding. In 2015, it was planned to deliver the lead destroyer, Zumwalt, to the customer, as well as continue the construction of subsequent ships. However, due to a number of shortcomings, the date for entry into service of the first ship of the series - DDG-1000 - has been postponed to the end of 2016, and there is no guarantee that it will be met. The deadlines for other ships are also constantly shifting upward.
And now the most interesting thing: the cost of each of the three new destroyers of the DD(X) project, taking into account design and testing costs, has already exceeded the $7 billion mark. For comparison, the ships of the Arleigh Burke project cost the US budget approximately 1.8 billion each, which is almost four times less than the cost of the Zamvolt and its “brothers”. The new destroyer ended up costing the Pentagon more than the last American Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77), which caused a storm of indignation in the leadership of the US Navy. It is necessary to take into account that the construction time frame for the third destroyer, which is planned to be laid down on the slipway only in 2018, will lead to a further increase in the cost of the ship. What it will be like in the end can only be guessed at, but it is already clear that the military budget is not able to handle another “black hole” like the fifth-generation fighter F-35, which, despite tens of billions of dollars spent on its development, is still It has not yet been adopted by the US Army due to serious problems with the propulsion system and avionics.
The first thing that catches your eye about the ships of the DD(X) project is their unusual appearance. In the case of the Zumwalt destroyer, reducing visibility in the radar range became the main task when designing the hull and superstructure. The American destroyer looks like a long and narrow platform, in the middle of which there is a protruding superstructure of a complex shape, somewhat reminiscent of a battleship of the late 19th century. All the contours of the surface part of the ship are a system of planes connected to each other at different angles (the same technology was used in the development of the T-14 Armata tank - just look at its complex-shaped asymmetrical turret). The outside of the ship's hull and superstructure are covered with radio-absorbing materials approximately 2.5 cm thick, and the number of protruding antennas and other parts of the hull has been reduced to a minimum.
The armament of the Zumwalt destroyer consists of 20 universal Mk-57 launchers with the ability to install up to 80 missiles, two long-range 155-mm AGS artillery mounts and 30-mm rapid-fire anti-aircraft systems. The destroyer is capable of hosting a helicopter and several unmanned aerial vehicles. The ship's displacement is approaching 15 thousand tons, which makes the DD(X) destroyers the largest modern non-aircraft-carrying warships in the world after the Soviet/Russian nuclear-powered missile cruisers of Project 1144 (a series of four cruisers built in the USSR between 1973 and 1989 , at the moment - the only surface ships in the Russian Navy with a nuclear power plant), whose displacement reaches 26 thousand tons. The main power plant on the USS Zumwalt ship is two Rolls-Royce Marine Trent-30 gas turbine engines with a total power of 105 thousand hp. The engines are connected to electric generators into a single power system that supplies energy to all ship systems, including two electric motors that rotate the propellers. This “architecture” of the power plant made it possible to ensure high performance characteristics - the declared maximum speed of the destroyer exceeds 30 knots.
It would seem that everything is fine (except for the cost, of course), but as often happens recently with American military developments, there are nuances:
1. Seaworthiness. The destroyers of the DD(X) project use a daring, innovative solution - a sharp, reverse-angled, “ram-type” stem. This shape of the bow is the embodiment of the opposite concept of waves flowing around the bow and keel of a ship compared to the currently common one - and, according to American shipbuilders, this was supposed to provide the destroyer with good seaworthiness with a low side, in order to reduce radar signature. This shape of the ship’s bow should “pierce”, “cut” the waves - instead of “climbing” onto the wave. However, during sea trials it was discovered that even in moderate seas the USS Zumwalt begins to seriously “nod off,” which has a very negative effect on its speed and stability. It is not possible to eliminate this problem, since it stems from the existing geometry of the ship's hull; the only thing that can be done is to try to somehow neutralize its negative impact on the seaworthiness of the ship. True, American engineers have not yet figured out exactly how.
2. Armament. Initially, it was assumed that the DDG-1000 destroyer would be able to perform the functions of both fire support and missile defense in any theater of military operations, as well as provide air defense cover for sea and land formations. For this purpose, it was planned to equip it with SM-2MR or SM-6 missile defense systems, and for missile defense tasks - with promising modifications of the SM-3 missile defense system. However, at the moment, none of the above is installed on the ready-made Zamvolt, and due to the problems of adapting air defense and missile defense launchers to the hull design, it is unclear when it will be installed - and whether it will be installed at all!
3. Radar capabilities. In addition to radar stealth, detection means are of great importance for ships of this type - after all, if you are “invisible” to an enemy radar, but cannot detect the enemy yourself, then all the advantages of stealth technologies immediately disappear. For the DD(X) series destroyers, a combination of two powerful radar systems of different ranges was initially developed: AN/SPY-3 - for working against low-flying/high-altitude targets and targets in near space and AN/SPY-4 - a "volumetric search" radar. Faced with the fact that the SPY-4, being developed for the “defunct” CG(X) cruiser, did not fit the hull of the DDG1000 project, the Pentagon, without hesitation, simply stopped its development in 2010, and began designing a new AMDR system ( Air Missile Defense Radar) specifically for the DDG-1000 Zumwalt. But then serious problems began with AMDR, and at the moment the Zamvolt is equipped only with the AN/SPY-3 radar system, which meets only half of the stated requirements of the US Navy for this type of ship.
4. Versatility. The Zamvolta also does not have one more type of weapon that modern ships must have if they are declared as independent combat units of the fleet - these are anti-ship missiles. The US Navy has only one type in service - the Harpoon family of subsonic anti-ship missiles. However, the Harpoon could not be adapted to the DDG-1000 silo launchers - since the Harpoon is launched from its own four-container installations, for which, in turn, there was no place in the destroyer’s hull. Vicious circle. As a result, “Zamvolt” was left without anti-ship missiles at all! In order to somehow justify this obvious failure, the Pentagon stated “that the new destroyer does not need PC missiles at all, and the easiest way to fight enemy ships is with aircraft from aircraft carriers.” It was not specified who Zumwalt would fight with then...
5. “Technologies of the future”. Initially, instead of a 155-caliber artillery system, it was planned to install an electromagnetic gun (EMG) on ships of the DD(X) / GG(X) type, but then they decided to abandon this idea. Particularly because when firing from an EMF, it would be necessary to temporarily turn off most of the destroyer’s electronics, including air defense and missile defense systems, as well as stop the ship’s progress and life support systems, otherwise the power of the power system would not be enough to support firing. In addition, the resource of the EM gun is extremely short - only a few dozen shots, after which the barrel fails due to enormous magnetic and temperature overloads. This problem has not yet been resolved. Research and testing, or more precisely, “budget development,” under the program for the development of electromagnetic weapons are currently ongoing, but it is unlikely that an EMF with the characteristics that were announced at the start of this program will appear in service with the US Army in the foreseeable future.
Of course, we can’t say that Zumwalt is completely devoid of advantages. It has them: this is stealth in the radar range, and a new generation hybrid power plant, and high automation of all ship control systems, as a result of which the crew is only 140 people, and a rapid-fire AGS artillery system with a caliber of 155 mm. But considering that a number of shortcomings, and quite significant ones, have not yet been eliminated (and some cannot be eliminated in principle), and also that the cost of one ship has already exceeded 7 billion dollars, and will only grow, this negates all the advantages of the destroyer.
You can hear the opinion that the futuristic Zumwalt is the prototype of the “ship of the future”, but the “ship of the future” is characterized not by its appearance, but by a combination of stealth and low noise, seaworthiness, survivability and firepower, allowing it to equally successfully deal with enemy surface, underwater and air targets . And, what is especially important, the “ship of the future,” be it an aircraft carrier, destroyer or cruiser, must also have a reasonable price, allowing it to be produced and put into service in serial quantities. But Zumwalt does not meet these criteria - at the moment it is just a very expensive “toy”, “a showcase of the technologies of the American military-industrial complex,” as one of the US senators put it. So what did the Americans ultimately create - the destroyer of “tomorrow” and the “thunderstorm of the seas” capable of terrifying the enemy fleet, or a floating “museum” advertising the capabilities (and appetites) of the American military-industrial complex? Considering that only 3 ships of the DD(X) project will be built and put into service, the answer is obvious.
English Zumwalt class guide missile destroyers
A new class of US Navy missile-armed destroyers (also formerly known as DD(X)), with an emphasis on attacking coastal and land targets. This type is a smaller version of the ships of the DD-21 program, the funding of which was stopped. The first Zumwalt-class destroyer, DDG-1000, was launched on October 29, 2013. Destroyers of this series are multi-purpose and are designed to attack the enemy on the coast, combat enemy aircraft and fire support for troops from the sea.
The program is named after Admiral and Chief of Naval Operations Elmo R. Zumwalt.
Story
Among US warships under development, the DDG-1000 would precede the Littoral Combat Ship and possibly follow the CG(X) cruiser, competing with the anti-aircraft CVN-21. The DDG-1000 program is the result of a significant reorganization of the DD21 program, the budget of which was cut by Congress by more than 50% (as part of the SC21 program of the 1990s).
The Navy initially hoped to build 32 of these destroyers. This number was later reduced to 24, and then to seven, due to the high cost of new experimental technologies that must be included in the destroyer. The US House of Representatives remains skeptical of this program (for financial reasons) and therefore initially only allocated money to the Navy to build one DDG-1000 as a "technology demonstration". Initial funding for the destroyer was included in the 2007 National Defense Authorization Act.
However, in 2007, $2.6 billion was allocated to finance and build two Zumwalt-class destroyers.
On February 14, 2008, Bath Iron Works was selected to build the USS Zumwalt, numbered DDG-1000, and Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding was selected to build the DDG-1001, at a cost of $1.4 billion each. According to Defense Industry Daily, the cost could rise to $3.2 billion per ship, plus $4.0 billion in life cycle costs for each ship.
On July 22, 2008, a decision was made to build only two similar destroyers. A few weeks later, a decision was made to build a third destroyer of this type.
Name |
Number |
Shipyard |
Bookmark |
Launching |
Commissioning |
Zamvolt
|
1000 | Bath Iron Works | November 17, 2011 | 29.10.2013 | 2016 (plan) |
Michael Monsour
|
1001 | Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding | May 23, 2013 | 2016 (plan) | 2016 (plan) |
Lyndon B. Johnson
|
1002 | Bath Iron Works | April 4, 2014 | 2017 (plan) | 2018 (plan) |
After commissioning, Zamvolt-class destroyers will be used in conjunction with Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.
On December 7, 2015, the first of three destroyers, Zamvolt, valued at $4.4 billion by this time, went to sea for sea trials.
Design
These ships should receive a new generation power plant, which is a combined diesel-gas turbine engine with full electric propulsion (the “all-electric ship” principle, which uses a common primary source for generating electricity to provide propulsion and power supply to all ship systems without exception).
The hull and superstructure of the ship are surrounded by radio-absorbing materials approximately one inch thick, and the number of protruding antennas has been reduced to a minimum. The composite materials of the superstructure contain wood (balsa).
Thanks to the highest degree of automation, the ship's crew is only 140 people.
The ship's armament consists of 20 Mk-57 universal launchers with a total capacity of 80 Tomahawk missiles, two long-range 155-mm artillery mounts and 30-mm anti-aircraft guns. The destroyer is capable of hosting a helicopter and unmanned aerial vehicles.
The ship's displacement is approaching 15 thousand tons, which makes the Zamvolta the largest modern non-aircraft-carrying warships in the world after the Soviet/Russian nuclear-powered missile cruisers of Project 1144, whose displacement reaches 26 thousand tons.
The cost of the program will be $22 billion for the US Navy (the figure will be adjusted, but it is expected that the increase in costs will not exceed 15%).
TTX
Main characteristics
Displacement: 14,564 long tons (gross)
-Length: 183 m
-Width: 24.6 m
-Draft: 8.4 m
-Reservation: Kevlar protection of individual components is possible
-Engines: 2 x Rolls-Royce Marine Trent-30 gas turbine units
-Power: 78 MW
-Speed: 30 knots (55.56 km/h)
-Crew: 148 people