June 18, 2019
Top Secret (Sort Of): The Story of How the Navy Makes Stealth Destroyers Stealth
What we can tell you.
by Kris Osborn
Smith explained the rationale for the “split-delivery†acquisition of the three ships, which follow a path from commissioning, through a transport to a home port of San Diego for further combat preparation. While there are some differences between the three ships, such as the use of a steel deckhouse for the Johnson, the developmental trajectory for all three ships has been interwoven.
Eluding radar, quietly sailing into enemy territory and launching long-range precision attacks from less-detectable positions all begin to paint the picture of how a “stealthy†offensive surface destroyers could transform modern maritime warfare.
Can a massive surface destroyer, armed with Tomahawk missiles, deck-mounted guns, sensors, antennas and heat-generating onboard electrical power, truly be considered stealthy? Surely, tall, vertical masts, hull-mounted sensors and protruding antenna could never be a low-observable ship, yet performing these missions comprised the technical starting point from which engineers launched into building a first-of-its-kind stealth warship.
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/top-secret-sort-story-how-navy-makes-stealth-destroyers-stealth-63037
