Final Zulmwalt-class Destroyer Departs Bath Iron Works

The third and final Zulmwalt-class destroyer built for the U.S. Navy sailed away from General Dynamics' Bath Iron Works (BIW) shipyard in Bath, Maine on Wednesday.

Crewed by BIW shipbuilders, the warship Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG 1002) is heading to Huntington Ingalls Industries' Ingalls Shipbuilding in in Pascagoula, Miss. for final outfitting, combat systems installation, testing and activation.

At 610 feet long with an 80.7-foot beam and 15,995 metric tons displacement, Zumwalt-class (DDG 1000) guided missile destroyers are the largest and most technologically advanced surface combatant in U.S. Navy fleet, designed to provide multi-mission offensive and defensive capabilities, including anti-air, anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare.

DDG 1000 is the first U.S. Navy surface combatant to employ an innovative and highly survivable Integrated Power System (IPS). Key design features that make the DDG 1000 IPS architecture unique include the ability to provide power to propulsion, ship's service, and combat system loads from the same gas turbine prime movers.

The ships feature a wave-piercing tumblehome hull design as well as a composite superstructure that significantly reduces radar cross section and other signatures, making the ship harder to detect by enemies at sea.

The Navy initially planned to operate 32 Zulmwalt-class destroyers, but the number was ultimately slashed to three due to cost overruns.

Construction of the series' lead ship, USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000), commenced in February 2009; and the vessel was commissioned in October 2016 ahead of final delivery to the Navy in April 2020. The second ship, USS Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001), was delivered to the Navy in April 2018 and commissioned in January 2019. The keel for Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG 1002) was laid in January 2017, and the ship was christened in April 2019.