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New Tech Destroyer USS Zumwalt — Parallax Forums

New Tech Destroyer USS Zumwalt

I just saw this and thought it was a CGI fake, but it's for real. Already christened, launched, tested, and being commissioned in mid-October: http://usszumwalt.org/ship/ This stealthy, slab-sided (remember the Sea Shadow?) ship makes big promises and has every modern technical marvel on board, including RAIL GUNS. Any Propellers on board? Hate to think of our National Security powered by Arduino or Windows 10 tech!

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Comments

  • It's a destroyer that cost almost $4 billion, so it better be something special, and hopefully it will prove its critics wrong and actually stay right side up.
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2016-09-10 04:28
    'Just came home from the local wooden boat festival. I'm sorry, but the Zumwalt is ugly enough by itself. Juxtaposed with the watercraft I witnessed today, it's downright repulsive looking! There must be a lot of old navy salts just shaking their heads.

    -Phil
  • Fanuc supplies the computers(PPC) and it runs Lynx RTOS. .

    Also carries 16 IBM Blade servers.

    Supposedly has real time sensor fusion.

    Still I wouldn't park it anywhere within 200 miles of a hostile Island or land mass given some of the new anti-ship missiles like the Sunburn that can turn it into a slag of melted aluminum.
  • Heater.Heater. Posts: 21,230
    edited 2016-09-10 08:30
    Sure is ugly. I guess that being a war ship "pretty" was not high on the requirements list. War ships should look menacing, which that surely does. Given the requirement to not bounce radar reflections back to your enemy I can't see them avoiding shapes like that.

    What's the deal with "real time sensor fusion"? I have a 10 dollar STM32F4 board hear that does that :)

    As for war ships and Windows, remember the Yorktown https://gcn.com/Articles/1998/07/13/Software-glitches-leave-Navy-Smart-Ship-dead-in-the-water.aspx


  • Not sure I would want deck duty, there isn't much of it.
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,244
    MikeDYur wrote: »
    Not sure I would want deck duty, there isn't much of it.

    Ahoy, there be less deck to swab, me hearty!

  • erco wrote: »

    Ahoy, there be less deck to swab, me hearty!


    I could see myself latching on to one of those hatch covers before sliding off the side of the ship. Only to find out it wasn't for incoming use, it was for outgoing. And while trying to regain my sea-legs, I was suddenly launched on a mission to some exotic port of call.
  • I saw this in Bath, Me just after she was floated out of the graving dock. The distinctive shape looming through the early morning mist made for a unforgettable look at the future.
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,244
    edited 2016-09-13 23:23
    I just HAD to watch Tomorrow Never Dies again to see the Sea Shadow.

    Edit: don't expect this link to work, based on subsequent comments. Just leaving it for posterity.

    http://185.120.147.213/kj2vzszcem6vtaw52bjz4ledf7mv6osuurxb6kzuyttw4uddrh3esjx72xbq/v.mp4
  • Heater.Heater. Posts: 21,230
    erco,

    What is that link?

    All it produces for me is a white page with the text:

    "Wrong IP"
  • Heater. wrote: »
    erco,

    What is that link?

    All it produces for me is a white page with the text:

    "Wrong IP"

    Same here.

  • ercoerco Posts: 20,244
    edited 2016-09-13 22:45
    That streams the movie, at least on this side of the pond country.
  • Nope. I'm also in southern California and I get the same thing Heater and Publison get.
  • "Wrong IP" here in WA.

    -Phil
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,244
    Hmmm, must be a dynamic URL just for my IP address. Don't I feel special now! It works fine on multiple Win8/10 computers in the house, even my RCA Android tablet, all running Chrome.

    Sorry, we now return you to your regular paid programming.
  • The ships namesake has nothing ugly about him.

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elmo_Zumwalt
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,244
    edited 2016-09-14 15:54
    MikeDYur wrote: »
    The ships namesake has nothing ugly about him.

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elmo_Zumwalt

    Agreed, too bad he's gone. I already like him for President better than any of the other candidates, even if he didn't become a senator.

    From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Zumwalt:

    Zumwalt's commanding officer is Captain James A. Kirk.[25] Kirk attracted some media attention when he was first named captain, due to the similarity of his name to that of the Star Trek television character Captain James T. Kirk, played by William Shatner. Shatner wrote a letter of support to Zumwalt's crew in April 2014.[26]

    Go Cap'n Kirk! http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/star-trek-v-the-restaurant-enterprise/n9513



  • I could think of a hundred different people that could run this country, to bad we have to pick between two.
    erco wrote: »
    I already like him for President better than any of the other candidates, even if he didn't become a senator.

  • PublisonPublison Posts: 12,366
    edited 2016-09-14 23:48
    Carefull about the politics. :)
  • It's even more advanced than it first appears.

    There is "more than meets the eye" in that ship.

    At 10:50, the video informs us it's a transformer.

    ZumwaltTransformer160914.PNG

    Too bad they didn't include video of it transforming. :D
    523 x 309 - 99K
  • kwinnkwinn Posts: 8,697
    MikeDYur wrote: »
    I could think of a hundred different people that could run this country, to bad we have to pick between two.
    erco wrote: »
    I already like him for President better than any of the other candidates, even if he didn't become a senator.

    We had a similar choice recently so I can sympathize with you. It's a sad state of affairs when the choice is between terrible and even worse.
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,244
    Publison wrote: »
    Carefull about the politics. :)

    Jim, I'm writing you in for PotUS.

  • Apparently, the Zumwalt just pulled into port locally (Norfolk, VA). As it also happens, I attended a "Science Pub" presentation by Old Dominion University at a local brewery last night. The topic was Marine Engineering (one of the engineering minors they just started offering), and the DDG 1000 came up in discussion.

    One thing I learned about the ship last night is it does not have a traditional engine design. Traditionally, propulsion was provided by dedicated (usually diesel) engines, while the rest of the ship's power was from separate power plants. In the DDG 1000, the engines are electric and powered from the same power plant(s) as the entire rest of the ship. Apparently, the driving factor for this change was the Zumwalt's support for Directed-Energy Weapons (DEW). Such systems require significant burst of energy, which require much larger power plants than traditionally used. By unifying the power systems for on board power, DEWs, and propulsion, they are apparently able to meet all needs without having to take up more space. While this sounds impressive, I have to wonder what kind of issues they will have going forward. Electrical engineering in a marine environment is an art unto itself. From experience, I know how easily electrical systems can go awry on a ship.

    As for the "transformer" comment, this is actually part of an overall shift in the US Navy's design philosophy. Some of you may also know about the LCS (Littoral Combat Ship), which is even more modular than the DDG 1000. The idea is simple: design the ships such that their payloads are interchangeable. For the LCS, they're known as "mission modules", which theoretically allow the ship to be used for a myriad of distinct purposes (e.g. mine warfare, surveillance, temporary hospital, troop transport, etc). Conversely, the DDG is still primarily a combat vessel, so it's more focused on swapping out it's weaponry (including new and/or prototype weapons).

    In both cases (LCS and DDG), they are running the ships with significantly smaller crews. Ironically, this may be the most difficult part of the change in the Navy's philosophy. Several years back, I had an opportunity to talk with a crew that was training for the LCS 2 (I was working on one of the mission modules at the time). One thing that became clear is that the operation of the LCS fundamentally changed they way the sailors were being trained. Usually, a sailor would specialize in a single area of focus (weapons, propulsion, navigation, etc.). But, with the significantly reduced crew size of the LCS (and presumably the DDG 1000), the sailors were having to learn all of it. Just like the mission modules, they had to be interchangeable for just about every job on the ship. In conversation, the sailors had mixed views on whether this was a good thing or not. They understood the advantage of having smaller crews, though they were concerned it would mean they had to do more work as a result. It gave them a broader opportunity to learn, but they couldn't necessarily have enough time to get really proficient in any one area of focus. Additionally, it potentially put them at a disadvantage when their assignment changed to a different ship, where specialization was the name of the game.

    In the long run, the Navy's new philosophy may indeed be a sea change, but I suspect there will be some rough chop along the way to making it a reality.
  • Some good rail gun video, not sure if this was posted in another thread, here now in the USS Zumwalt.

  • ercoerco Posts: 20,244
    edited 2016-11-11 14:06
    If only the Navy could afford ammo to let the sailors do gunnery practice. What a disaster.

    http://www.popularmechanics.com/military/navy-ships/a23738/uss-zumwalt-ammo-too-expensive/
  • Heater.Heater. Posts: 21,230
    Hmm...I was just reading the other day that the amo for the Zumwalt, was too expensive to fire! Getting on for a million dollar a shot or something ridiculous. To hit anything at that range you need guided shells.

    Wikipedia still insists that materials science is not up to making the rails survive the friction/heat/forces required and will wear out after a few shots.

    Still, I'd love to see the capacitor banks that drive those things.
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,244
    edited 2016-11-11 14:19
    Heater. wrote: »
    Still, I'd love to see the capacitor banks that drive those things.

    Probably not the Chinese capacitors I buy in bulk for a buck.

    Hey, maybe I can help our Navy find some ordinance they can actually afford on EBay! Does the Navy even care about free shipping, or will USPS take one for the team?
  • Heater.Heater. Posts: 21,230
    Ha, if you were head of procurement for the navy it would shave trillions off the budget.
  • Are armed forces may be looking to China for procurement of materials. Hey if it's good enough for the prez-elect.
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