General Dynamics’ Bath Iron Works (BIW) launched the last Zumwalt-class destroyer, the future USS Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG-1002), on Dec. 9 at its facility in Bath, Maine.
The U.S. Navy underscored the process of launching a ship takes several days to move it from a land-level facility to the dry dock, then slowly flood the dry dock until the ship is afloat. Once the vessel is in the water, final outfitting and production can start.
Capt. Kevin Smith, DDG-1000 program manager, said, “it’s important for the DDG 1000 program and shipyard to reach this major milestone.”
“With the first two ships of the class underway, we are excited to continue the next phase of construction of the future Lyndon B. Johnson,” he added.
DDG-1002 differs from its sister ships, the future USS Michael Monsoor (DDG-1001), and the USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000), because it has a steel deckhouse rather than the previously used composite material. The change is intended to save money.
The Navy originally planned to build 32 DDG-1000s designed to support Marine landings with its BAE Systems-designed Advanced Gun System for long-range bombardment with the Lockheed Martin [LMT]-developed 155 mm Long Range Attack Projectile (LRAP).
The service reduced the number to three to keep the program affordable and in 2016 canceled the projectile due to increased cost per round and technology issues.
Last year, the Navy shifted the Zumwalt-class mission from Marine landing support to offensive surface strike (Defense Daily, Dec. 4).
Last month Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for warfare systems, Vice Adm. William Merz, told the Senate Armed Services Committee this class is still very capable even without using the Advanced Gun System. He noted the Navy will either continue developing another round to go in the gun or potentially remove the guns and find another use for the space (Defense Daily, Nov. 28).
The DDG-1000s have 80 Vertical Launching Systems cells larger than those on any other ship which allow it to feature many weapons options.
The first Zumwalt destroyer is expected to be operational in 2021 while DDG-1002 is scheduled to be christened in the spring of 2019. DDG-1000 ships have a two-phase delivery. Hull, mechanical and electric (HM&E) delivery is finished in Bath, Maine before the ship is commissioned. Then, it starts combat systems activation, testing, and trials.
The Navy accepted the HM&E delivery of DDG-1001 in April (Defense Daily, April 24), eight years after the start of fabrication.
During the annual Sea Air Space expo in April, Smith had said DDG-1002 was expected to be christened in November 2018, undergo trials this month, and complete HM&E delivery by March 2020 (Defense Daily, April 13).