ISLAMABAD – The USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000), the first of three new guidedmissile destroyers for the US Navy, won’t be delivered with complete combatcapability until the first quarter of next year, six years behind schedule.
Colleen O’Rourke, a Navylinkspokesperson,confirmed to Stars and Stripeslinkthisweek that the $7.8 billion USS Zumwalt was supposed to reach full combatcapability last month. The destroyer was initially planned to reach fullcombat capability five years ago and be fully operational three years ago.
“While combat system testing has made significant progress, Zumwaltcontinues to work through first-in-class integration and shipboard testchallenges,” O’Rourke said.
The destroyers are undergoing a phased delivery strategy, according to Stars& Stripeslink,with hull and mechanical and engineering installation being completed atGeneral Dynamics Bath Iron Works in Maine, followed by testing on the EastCoast and combat system activation in California by defense contractorsRaytheon and BAE Systems.
Once all of the ships’ combat systems have been installed and tested, theywill be considered ready for final delivery. At present, the first twodestroyers, the Zumwalt and the USS Michael Monsoor, are active.
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Shelby Oakley, an acquisition director with the Government AccountabilityOffice (GAO), also confirmed to Stars & Stripeslinkthatthe delays “continue to stem from the same, numerous difficult issues theNavy has faced on DDG-1000 for some time that are a result of concurrentlyattempting to prove out and build a very complex ship.” The GAO said in anApril report that the Navylinkis“still working to correct” 320 “serious deficiencies” on the ship.
According to the US Navy, the Zumwalt is the “largest and mosttechnologically advanced surface combatant in the world” and will be ableto perform a “range of deterrence, power projection, sea control andcommand and control missions.”
