The US Navy just commissioned the largest destroyer ever, a ‘technological marvel’, the USS Zumwalt

By Alex Lockie and Reuters From Business Insider

The largest destroyer ever built for the US Navy, the USS Zumwalt, was commissioned last month in Baltimore, Maryland.

The 600-foot guided missile destroyer was named after legendary naval officer Admiral Elmo Russell “Bud” Zumwalt. His daughters, Ann Zumwalt and Mouzetta Zumwalt-Weatherly, joined commanding officer Captain James A. Kirk for the ceremony.

“Zumwalt is today a technological marvel. When deployed, our Navy and nation will have … a multi-mission destroyer with the stealth survivability and combat power to take on our most challenging missions,” Kirk said.

“If Batman had a ship, it would be the USS Zumwalt,” Adm. Harry B. Harris, Jr., commander of the US Pacific Command, told CNN.

The USS Zumwalt has a sleek, streamlined appearance and will be fitted with some of the military’s most advanced weapon systems. The Zumwalt sports an advanced power plant that Navy planners hope to use to support next generation weapons like railguns or laser systems.

Additionally, the Zumwalt has a large flight deck that may one day accommodate the Marine Corps variant of the F-35B.

As the Zumwalt was being commissioned, another US Navy destroyer was targeted in a failed missile attack from territory in Yemen controlled by Iran-aligned Houthi rebels, the third such incident in the past week, US officials said.

IMAGE: USS Zumwalt 1 U.S. Navy

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