DD(X)

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The DD(X) is a future class of United States Navy destroyer, designed as a multi-mission ship with a focus on land attack. The lead ship will be named Zumwalt, for Admiral Elmo Zumwalt. Following Navy tradition, this will be called the Zumwalt class.

Among U.S. warships in development, the DD(X) is to be preceded by the Littoral Combat Ship and followed by the CG(X) cruiser and CVN-21 aircraft carrier.

1 Design and Development
2 DD(X) Controversy
- 2.1 Development
- 2.2 Role
3 Specifications
4 Aircraft
5 Armament
6 Radar
7 Trivia
8 External links

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Design and Development

The DD(X) will feature: a low radar profile; an integrated power system, which can send electricity to the electric drive motors or weapons, which may someday include railguns; a total ship computing environment infrastructure (TSCE-I), serving as the ship's primary LAN and as the hardware-independent platform for all of the ship's software ensembles; automated fire-fighting systems and automated piping rupture isolation. It is being designed to require a smaller crew and be cheaper to operate than comparable warships. It will have a wave-piercing "tumblehome" hull form whose sides slope inward above the waterline. This will reduce the radar cross-section, returning much less energy than a more hard-angled hull form.

In late 2005, the program entered the detail design and integration phase, in which Raytheon is the lead program contractor and integrator. Both Northrop Grumman Ship Systems and General Dynamics Bath Iron Works share dual-lead for the hull, mechanical and electrical detail design. BAE has the advanced gun system and the MK57 VLS. Almost every major defense contractor, and sub-contractors from nearly every state in the US, are involved to some extent in this project, which is the largest single line item in the Navy's budget. During the previous contract, development and testing of 11 Engineering Development Models (EDMs) took place:

Advanced Gun System
Autonomic Fire Suppression System
Dual Band Radar
Infrared
Integrated Deckhouse & Apertures
Integrated Power System
Integrated Undersea Warfare
Peripheral Vertical Launch System
Total Ship Computing Environment
Tumblehome Hull Form

Originally known as the DD-21, the class was renamed in 2001 when its acquisition program was reworked. DD-21 stood for "21st Century Destroyer." According to a Government Accountability Office report [1], milestones include:

Formal program launch, April 2002.
Preliminary design review, March 2004.
Lead ship authorized, March 2005.
Critical design review, August 2005.
Start fabrication, June 2007.
First ship launched, June 2012.

USS Hayler (DD-997) (1982) was the last Spruance-class destroyer, and DDG-112 (2010) is to be the last Arleigh Burke-class destroyer. The Zumwalt's hull number will be DDG-1000.

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DD(X) Controversy

Controversy over the DD(X) is centered in two primary areas: the new ship’s development, and the new ships projected role in the US fleet.

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Development

Press reports indicate that the DD(X) program may be deeply cut, or perhaps even canceled, due to budgets constraints brought about by the 2003 Iraq War and the ongoing effort to rebuild the United States Gulf Coast region following 2005's Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita.

The House of Representatives is against the DD(X) and has cut some funding, preferring to build another Arleigh Burke class destroyer and the new littoral combat ships. The Senate supports the DD(X) and continues to approve more funding.

It was reported on October 17, 2005, that an October 5 Pentagon report recommended "canceling the DD(X) destroyer being developed by Northrop Grumman Corp." Wired News

On November 23, the Defense Acquisition Board approved a plan for simultaneous construction of the first two DD(X) ships at Northrop’s Ingalls yard in Pascagoula, MS, and General Dynamics’ Bath Iron Works in Bath, ME. However, as of that date, funding has yet to be authorized by Congress.

In late December 2005, the House and Senate agreed to continue funding the DD(X) program, however only seven of these ships will be built instead of the originally planned 23 to 30.

In April 2006 the first of the class was announced and will be named the ZUMWALT and carry the designator DDG 1000. The ship will be named to honor the former Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Elmo R. “Bud” Zumwalt Jr.

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Role

The United States Navy sees the DD(X) destroyer project as the replacement for Iowa and Wisconsin, the last two remaining battleships in the US fleet. This move has placed the destroyer in harm's way with both the Army and the Marine Corps. The Marines in particular feel very strongly against replacing the battleships with the DD(X) destroyer, citing two primary points:

The DD(X) destroyer is not slated to enter service until 2013 at the earliest, while the US Navy’s last two Iowa-class battleships are slated to be removed no later than 2008. This leaves, at best, a five-year gap in between the removal of Iowa and Wisconsin and DD(X)’s projected starting date in which the Navy would not have any replacement for the loss of seaborne artillery.
The Marines feel that the 5-inch (127 mm) gun mounts slated to be installed on the DD(X) destroyer will not be able to adequately provide assistance for their amphibious assaults and onshore operations. This last point is a requirement of the National Defense Authorization Act of 1996, which states that before the battleships Iowa and Wisconsin are removed from the Naval Vessel Register the US Navy must certifiy it has enough firepower to equal that of these two battleships. Thus far, the Marine Corps has not actively protested the DD(X) destroyer program, because they often work closely with the Navy, and any large-scale protest may result in repercussions against the Marines later.

The 2006 Defense Appropriations Act authorized the Secretary of the Navy to strike the Iowa and Wisconsin from the NVR, clearing the way for them to be donated as museum ships. This leaves the Navy a large gap in Naval Surface Fire Support, which, when combined with the cancellation of the DD(X), is not going to be filled in the foreseeable future.

The Navy estimates that developing the DD(X) will cost $2.0 billion to $5 billion dollars, while the cost of maintaining the battleships is only $250,000 per year. Refurbishing Iowa and Wisconsin has been priced at either $430 million for a 14-month program or $500 million for a 10-month program. [2]

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Specifications

Length: 600 ft (183 m)
Beam: 79.1 ft (24.1 m)
Draft: 27.6 ft (8.4 m)
Speed: 30.3 kt (56 km/h)
Displacement: 14,064 LT
Power: 78 MW, from 2 Rolls-Royce MT-30 gas turbines and emergency diesel generators.
Crew Size: 140

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