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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThe Navy’s New Ship Costs $4.4 Billion And It’s Useless
http://www.liberalamerica.org/2016/03/24/the-navys-new-ship-costs-4-4-billion-and-its-useless/The Zumwalts design was originally proposed in the 1990s. It was developed under the DD(X) destroyer program and features a futuristic-looking sloped tumblehome hull. It requires a smaller crew, is harder to detect on radar, and the deck can accommodate more aircraft than others in its class....
Navy officials have called into question the seaworthiness of the ship. They claim that the hull shape leaves it vulnerable to rolling over in certain conditions; the tests it will undergo are designed pinpoint such flaws. Adm. Gary Roughead worried about broader uses of the ship in 2008:
It has a lot of technology, but it cannot perform broader, integrated air and missile defense....
Many expert military analysts are concerned about the cost of the ship when compared to its limited capabilities. Loren Thompson, a military analyst at the Lexington Institute, asked,
How is it possible the Navy could spend a decade developing a multibillion-dollar destroyer, then suddenly discover the design is not suitable for its future needs?
Maybe they can use it as a carrier for the F-35.
cantbeserious
(13,039 posts)eom
Octafish
(55,745 posts)Wow, that's a lot of boondoggle.
Kelvin Mace
(17,469 posts)jpak
(41,759 posts)It was built without its Dual Band radar system - they replaced part of this with a mast mounted system that reduced its stealthiness and ability to track air and surface targets.
It lacks the ability to use advanced SM-6 missiles.
The originally proposed 57 mm autocannon was replaced with a less capable 30 mm cannon.
safeinOhio
(32,715 posts)Our last naval battle?
jpak
(41,759 posts)Almost 30 years ago and against the Iran Navy, not much of a navy and a smaller class ship was enough.
Also wonder if a million dollar cruise missile could take out that 4.4 billion dollar ship?
Big naval battles seem a thing of the past.
nichomachus
(12,754 posts)When we blew an Iranian passenger jet out of the sky.
Scuba
(53,475 posts)sarcasm thingy here for those without the gene
VMA131Marine
(4,149 posts)The Zumwalt's are a revolutionary step forward in destroyer design compared to the Arleigh Burkes they were supposed to replace. First and foremost, the DDG-1000s have much great electrical power generating capabilities as a result of their electric drive systems which will enable future weapons systems such as rail guns and directed energy weapons that could not be put on an Arleigh Burke. The article on the Navy's future destroyer ( http://www.military.com/daily-news/2014/04/09/navy-makes-plans-for-new-destroyer-for-2030s.html ) indicates that their systems will be a lot closer to the DDG-1000s than the Arleigh Burkes they will be replacing. I noticed that the comments from the article in the OP are fairly old and don't account for the actual capabilities of the new ships. I will also point out that the US Navy has integrated air and missile defense ships in the form of the Aegis crusiers which are expected to serve well into the 2030s.
msongs
(67,441 posts)KamaAina
(78,249 posts)longship
(40,416 posts)NobodyHere
(2,810 posts)as well as other military funding.
Octafish
(55,745 posts)He also opposed the first war in Iraq, which shows particularly good judgment.
Bernie Sanders in 1991 wanted sanctions, not war. He also asked for Bush senior to answer questions from Congress and his constituents.
NobodyHere
(2,810 posts)Ilsa
(61,698 posts)Takket
(21,625 posts)Eleanors38
(18,318 posts)Lancero
(3,013 posts)Last edited Tue Mar 29, 2016, 07:44 PM - Edit history (2)
The Navy had designed and built a new class of AAS (Amphibious Assault Ship and the F-35 was one of the craft if was supposed to be able to support...
Except... well... Uh, how should I put this? They designed the ship to be able to support the F-35... and uh, well... it turns out that... heheheh... the F-35 can kinda sorta... BURN THROUGH THE HULL.
Seriously, how the hell do they design a ship to support a aircraft and make this sort of fuck up?
Between that, the Zumwalt, and the recent nuclear submarine issues the Navy has been having I'm really starting to wonder if their higher ups can even tie their own shoes.
KamaAina
(78,249 posts)when the fancy war toys stop working.
Kaleva
(36,342 posts)Lancero
(3,013 posts)Kaleva
(36,342 posts)The problems with flight deck damage from the F-35 and MV-22 Osprey have been corrected in the follow on ships of the LHA America class.
"But Mercer did note the strategy in place for the America will not be necessary for the next two of the LHAs in the class.
USS Tripoli (LHA-7) and the yet-unnamed LHA-8, will be able to carry out complete unrestricted operations with the F-35 and MV-22, Mercer said."
https://news.usni.org/2014/01/15/sna-2014-heat-f-35-mv-22-continue-plague-big-deck-amphibs
Ichingcarpenter
(36,988 posts)putting up with this crap?
Truman would have had special hearings when he was in Congress
I really don't think its stupidity but something more nefarious going on. You can't reach this level of power without an above average IQ. You may think its the military industrial complex but it goes even deeper to
''the others''
DrBulldog
(841 posts)seanjoycek476
(54 posts)A sad state of affairs really.
Rex
(65,616 posts)Then there is the F-35...boondoggle of the century.
Major Nikon
(36,827 posts)At least according to Trump.
KamaAina
(78,249 posts)Major Nikon
(36,827 posts)It's not just a campaign promise, Trump guarantees it, which means if the Mexicans don't pay for it, he must be.
awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)That is part of the plan. Now they have to spend more money to get a design that works. It is kind of like the Air Force getting rid of the A10. There is nothing in the inventory that does what is does (and does cheaply), so they will have to come up with a ridiculously expensive replacement
jwirr
(39,215 posts)a resort hotel.
B Calm
(28,762 posts)B Calm
(28,762 posts)finger at the unbelievable military waste?