Navy Stealth Destroyer USS Zumwalt is Farther from Home Than Ever

• The US Navy destroyer USS Zumwalt was on a cruise of the Pacific. It made stops in Guam, Japan and Guam.
• This trip marks the furthest that the futuristic stealth warship has been away from home since entering service.
• After years of mechanical issues and debates over the ship’s place in the fleet, it is finally complete.

After years of budget problems, maintenance delays and debates over its role in the fleet, the US Navy’s most advanced destroyer could finally be ready to turn a new leaf.

The USS Zumwalt was the lead ship in the Zumwalt-class stealth destructioners. It made a port stop in Guam on September 19, and arrived in Japan September 26. It was released from Japan on October 8.

Since its inception in 2016, the warship has not traveled more than a hundred miles from San Diego. It also gives the Navy a chance to learn more about the Zumwalt classes.

“While the crew and ship are being given the same tasks as normal, their employment is part the fleet integration process to introduce a new class of ship into the operational setting and understand how it can work with other ships/platforms.” CNN spoke with a Navy official..

The Zumwalts — Zumwalt, USS Michael Monsoor, and USS Lyndon B. Johnson, each of which cost about $8 billion — were originally designed with the Advanced Gun System, which was to fire Long Range Land-Attack Projectiles, a rocket-assisted 155 mm round that is “the most accurate and longest-range guided projectile,” according to its manufacturer, Lockheed Martin.

These rounds were meant to be used by the Zumwalts to fire support forces ashore, and other operations in nearshore waters. However, as the Navy reduced its order of Zumwalt class ships from almost 30 to just three, the cost for those rounds soared to almost Each piece is $1 million.

Zumwalts weren’t able to fulfill their purpose, so they were reassigned. The Navy decided to Arm them with 12 new hypersonic rockets.

The plan calls for the removal of the guns from the ships and the replacement with the vertical launcher to the Common Hypersonic Glide Body. According to a US Navy official, the modifications will begin in 2023. USNI News.

The ships have also faced technological difficulties over the years, including a malfunction in USS Zumwalt’s propulsion system, which left it stuck in the ocean. Panama Canal 2016 and needing to be towed out — its second breakdown during its first few months in service.

Although the Zumwalts’ technology was not always successful, sailors have been able to complement its design.

Crew tested the ship’s handling under heavy seas while they were underway off Alaska in 2019. Capt. Andrew Carlson stated that the ship was able to withstand 13- to 20-foot waves. The tumblehome hull design works faster to correct the ship than other designs and makes it easier to manage.

Carlson stated, “All things considered, I’d prefer to be on that vessel than any other ship I have been on.” Defense News of Zumwalt. “For those of you who have been on cruisers especially up-top, you tend to lean over 15° and wonder if your going back. None of this happened to us.

Many years of work

The Navy claims that USS Zumwalt spent time in the Pacific, but the Navy disagrees. Not officially considered a deploymentThe US’s continued presence in the region is evident in Guam’s port call.

Capt. Amy McInnis is Zumwalt’s commanding officers. After arrival in Guam.

Zumwalt spent time in Japan and the ship’s sailors received supplies, including food and mail. Andrew Zalewski was the ship’s command chief. Even though it may seem like an ordinary stop in Japan, the visit was actually the culmination of years worth of planning and hard work.

Lt. Katherine Serrano, a Public Affairs Officer with Task Force 71 (Destroyer Squadron 15), said that operating the destroyer alongside the US Navy’s 7th Fleet, along with allies, partners “is an important move” for the Zumwalts as well as the fleet.

“Zumwalt-class destroyers maximize stealth, size, power, and computing capacity — fielding an array of weapons systems and cutting-edge technologies to fight forces in the air, on and under the sea, and on land,” Serrano told Insider.

China and Taiwan have been at odds with China for a number of reasons. Beijing has repeatedly condemned US military activities in the region, including US Navy transits through Beijing’s waters.

China’s Foreign Ministry labelled the US’s freedom of navigation exercises as an attempt to “undermine regional stability and peace” in July.

US officials often stress their regional alliances and state that their forces will “be there.”Fly, sail, or operate wherever international law permits..”

Rachel Nostrant is an American journalist based in New York. Her work has been published in VTDigger magazine, Military Times and Defense News. Her topics include environmental contamination at military bases, Vanessa Guillen’s murder, rising tensions between China, Taiwan, and the war on Ukraine.