U.S Navy takes control of 'deadliest destroyer': $4billion USS Zumwalt has guns that can pummel enemies 100 miles away and can trick radar into think it's a fishing boat
USS Zumwalt's unique angular shape makes it 50 times more difficult to detect on radar than a usual destroyer
Powered by electricity produced by turbines like those in Boeing 777, advanced automation allows for smaller crew
Zumwalt is Navy's most technologically sophisticated destroyer and crew of 143 have been training for two years
By Alex Matthews For Mailonline
Published: 03:30 EST, 16 May 2016 | Updated: 03:35 EST, 16 May 2016
U.S sailors will defend their shores with one of the 'deadliest' warships on the seas as the navy takes control of the USS Zumwalt.
The destroyer - which has guns designed to pummel enemies from nearly 100 miles away - is the largest in the fleet but its state of the art design makes it so hard to detect that on radar it resembles the size of a fishing trawler.
It is believed that the Zumwalt, considered the fleet's most technologically advanced destroyer, will cost taxpayers around $4.4billion when it is finished and should be ready for active service by October.
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U.S sailors will defend their shores in one of the most technologically advanced warships on the seas as the navy takes control of the USS Zumwalt (pictured)
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Sailors' uniforms and personal effects, supplies and spare parts are being moved aboard the 610-foot warship in anticipation of crew members taking on their new charge.
The Zumwalt is the first new class of warship built at Bath Iron Works, in Maine, since the Arleigh Burke slid into the Kennebec River in 1989. The shipyard is expected to turn the destroyer over to the Navy this week.
The ship features an angular shape that makes it 50 times more difficult to detect on radar and it's powered by electricity produced by turbines similar to those in a Boeing 777.
Advanced automation will allow the big ship to operate with a much smaller crew than on current generation of destroyers.
The original concept for the land-attack destroyer was floated more than 15 years ago then underwent several permutations.
The ship's unique angular shape makes it 50 times more difficult to detect and on radar its size looks similar to that of a fishing trawler
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The final design called for a destroyer with a stealthy shape and advanced gun system that can fire rocket-propelled projectiles with pinpoint accuracy.
But the growing cost forced the Navy to reduce what was originally envisioned as a 32-ship program to just three ships. The loss of economies of scale drove up the cost of the individual ships.
The slow-going and rising costs were little surprise after the General Accounting Office warned that the Navy was trying to incorporate too many new technologies into the ship.
'Zumwalt was a challenge to assemble because of all the new technologies, but sea trials show it is a world-class warship with unique capabilities,' said Loren Thompson, senior defense analyst with the Virginia-based Lexington Institute.
Some of the ship's 143 crew members have been in Bath for more than two years to prepare for the day they take control of it.
The Zumwalt is the first new class of warship built at Bath Iron Works, since the Arleigh Burke slid into the Kennebec River in 1989
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The sailors will continue training to prepare the ship to be formally commissioned into service as USS Zumwalt at a ceremony in Baltimore, Kirk said. From there, the ship will travel to its homeport in San Diego for further tests and trials.
Shipbuilders in Bath are busy on the second ship in the class, the Michael Monsoor, which will be christened next month. Work also is underway on the third and final ship, the Lyndon B. Johnson.
Jay Wadleigh, president of the largest union at the shipyard, said Bath Iron Works was selected for the job because the Navy knew it would be done right.
'I think the way the Zumwalt performed on the three different sea trials was better than anybody expected - us, the Navy and the company,' he said.
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