U.S. Secretary of Defense Visits Bath Iron Works

U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel yesterday paid a visit to Bath Iron Works shipyard in Maine for a first-hand look at the ongoing shipyard programs, including a tour of the very first DDG-1000 (USS Zumwalt).

Construction began on DDG 1000 in February 2009, and the Navy has, together with its industry partners, worked to mature the ship’s design and ready the industrial facilities to build this advanced surface combatant.

USS Zumwalt will be the lead ship of the Navy’s newest destroyer class, designed for littoral operations and land attack.

Mr. Chuck Hagel, during the tour, said that the Zumwalt-class destroyer represents the cutting edge of U.S. Naval capabilities. “The ship will be home ported in San Diego,” Hagel noted, and it “represents an important shift … in America’s interests to the Asia-Pacific”.

Hagel thanked General Dynamics and its workforce at Bath Iron Works, which will produce all three of the Zumwalt-class ships planned for production. The secretary called the facility “a magnificent institution that’s been part of the security of this country for 130 years.”

The future USS Zumwalt, the lead ship of the DDG 1000 class, is scheduled for delivery in fiscal year 2014.

The second ship, USS Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001), is currently over 70 percent complete and is scheduled to be delivered in 2016. USS Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG 1002) is expected to deliver to the Navy in fiscal year 2018.

[mappress]
SBT Staff, November 22, 2013