he MK46 Mod 1 weapon system fires a round during a live-fire qualification exercise aboard the amphibious transport dock ship USS New Orleans (LPD-18). US NAvy Photo
The Navy has replaced two 57mm guns planned on the Zumwalt-class guided missile destroyer designed to fight off swarm boat attacks with a smaller pair of 30mm guns, Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) told USNI News on Monday. Read More
USS Nitze (DDG 94) fires its MK-45 5-inch/54-caliber lightweight gun on May 12, 2014. US Navy Photo
This post was updated from an earlier version to include a statement from Raytheon.
The Navy’s surface warfare community is taking a second look at a guided shell that could be fired from existing ship board guns as part of the service’s recent focus on expanding the combat power of the Navy’s surface ships, USNI News has learned. Read More
The previously unexplained cost growth of the three ships of the Zumwalt (DDG-1000) class of ships found in the Navy’s shipbuilding account over the last five years is a result of funding practices implemented after the program’s 2010 restructure — at least in part. Read More
USS Spruance (DDG-111) is pierside at Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach, Calif., Jan, 2012. US Navy Photo
The following is the May 21, 2014 Congressional Research Service report, Navy DDG-51 and DDG-1000 Destroyer Programs. Read More
Pre-Commissioning Unit (PCU) Zumwalt (DDG-1000) pierside at General Dynamics Bath Iron Works shipyard in Bath, Maine on April 12, 2013. US Naval Institute Photo
The cost of the three ships in the Navy’s Zumwalt-class (DDG-1000) has risen more than $2 billion over the last five years — $450 million in the last year alone, according to Navy budget data aggregated by the Congressional Research Service (CRS).
USS Donald Cook (DDG-75) transits the Black Sea on April 21, 2014. US Navy Photo
The following is the April 8, 2014 Congressional Research Service report, Navy DDG-51 and DDG-1000 Destroyer Programs. Read More
USNI News contributor Cmdr. Daniel Dolan, interviewed the commander of Zumwalt (DDG-1000), Capt. James Kirk, on 31 March. The ship—first in a class of three next-generation destroyers—is among the most expensive surface ships the U.S. Navy is building. The ship features a slew of new systems and the smallest crew yet for a ship her size. Dolan asked Kirk about the ship’s handling, the hull, some of the history of her namesake, and brought questions from members of the Naval War College staff ahead of the ship’s christening on Saturday at General Dynamics Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine. Read More
USS Roosevelt (DDG 80) is underway in the Atlantic Ocean on Feb. 23, 2014. US Navy Photo
The following is from the Feb. 4, 2013 Congressional Research Service report, DDG-51 and DDG-1000 Destroyer Programs: Background and Issues for Congress. Read More
USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) fires its five-inch gun during a weapons exercise on Jan. 16, 2014. US Navy Photo
The Navy is taking another look at a five-inch guided round for the U.S. surface fleet following the development of the 155 mm Long-Range Land Attack Projectile (LRLAP) for the Zumwalt-class destroyers (DDG-1000), Rear Adm. Thomas Rowden, director of surface warfare (N96) for the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (OPNAV) told USNI News in a Jan. 9 interview. Read More
Zumwalt-class guided-missile destroyer DDG 1000 is floated out of dry dock at the General Dynamics Bath Iron Works shipyard on Oct. 28, 2013. US Navy Photo
The Navy’s efforts to get its newest destroyer out to sea are on track, despite numerous setbacks to several of the warship’s key operating and combat systems. Read More
