The destroyer Zumwalt's big guns don't have any ammo and the Navy may ditch them enti
 

The destroyer Zumwalt's big guns don't have any ammo and the Navy may ditch them entirely because they don't even work right
By: Ryan Pickrell - 11-30-18 2 hrs ago
RE: https://www.businessinsider.com/dest...8-11?r=UK&IR=T

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The guided-missile destroyer USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000), left, the Navy's most technologically advanced surface ship, is underway in formation with the littoral combat ship USS Independence (LCS 2) on the final leg of its three-month journey to its new homeport in San Diego, December 8, 2016.

1. The US Navy's most expensive destroyer — the Zumwalt-class destroyer — could be losing its revolutionary 155 mm deck guns, as the Navy has yet to find suitable ammunition.

2. The new ship class has also faced engineering, engine, and electrical problems, and recent photos suggest that it may be losing some of its stealth.

3. The Navy plans to incorporate the Zumwalt into the fleet in 2021 as a platform that can strike land targets and other ships.

4. With a high voltage electrical system, the ship is a top candidate for futuristic weapons systems like railguns and lasers.

The Zumwalt-class destroyer, the largest and most advanced surface combatant in the world, was built to be a silent killer, but the revolutionary warship has faced a string of setbacks during development — including the embarrassing problem that its supergun still does not work right.

The two 155 mm guns of the Advanced Gun System on the Zumwalt, intended to strike targets farther than 80 miles away. But it's are ridiculously expensive to fire, as a single Long Range Land Attack Projectile (LRLAP) costs almost $1 million. Procurement was shut down two years ago, leaving the Zumwalt without any ammunition to fire.

That's not the only problem. The gun also lacks the desired range, Breaking Defense reported Wednesday.

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Guided-missle destroyer USS Zumwalt departs Bath, Maine REUTERS/US Navy/Handout via Reuters

"We just cannot get the thing to fly as far as we want," Vice Adm. William Merz, deputy chief of naval operations for warfare systems, told the Senate Armed Service seapower subcommittee Tuesday, explaining that the Navy may do away with the guns entirely if it can't develop effective and cost-efficient ammunition.

The Navy "will be developing either the round that goes with that gun or what we are going to do with that space if we decide to remove that gun in the future. The ship is doing fine, on track to be operational in 2021 in the fleet," he explained, adding that the Zumwalt-class destroyer remains a "very capable platform with or without the gun."

The Zumwalt-class destroyers were expected to serve as multi-mission ships, focusing primarily on land attack and naval gunfire support missions with secondary anti-ship and anti-aircraft mission capabilities.

The Navy saw the ship operating in coastal areas and supporting ground troops, but that mission was changed late last year, according to The Diplomat.

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https://www.businessinsider.com/step...r-built-2018-5