This New $7 Billion Warship Is Part Of The US Response To China's Military Buildup

04-13-2012 • http://www.businessinsider.com, Robert Johnson

Looking a bit like an old Civil War Ironclad, the $7 billion DDG 1000 USS Zumwalt will focus on land attacks, relying heavily on its advanced stealth technology to slip in close to shore before unleashing its massive onboard arsenal.

Originally estimated to cost about $3.8 billion, the Zumwalt has so much technology crammed on board that its cost has nearly doubled, and after the first three are built, production will stop.

In addition the Zumwalt will be built to receive the Navy's new electromagnetic rail-gun that can fire projectiles at over five times the speed of sound.

Defense analyst Jay Korman says "They were looking to introduce so many new technologies at once, and the cost ballooned." Korman works with the Avascent Group concluded, "I don't think people have changed their minds that it's a capable ship. It's just too expensive."

Bath Iron Works in Maine, where the ship is being crafted, had to buy a new $40 million dollar building just to be able to assemble the huge ship. Despite its size, the new destroyer will only require half the crew of a traditional ship, due to the extensive onboard automation.

With concern growing about the vulnerability of America's aircraft carriers to Chinese missiles, the Zumwalt is said to be part of the Pentagon's renewed attention in the Pacific.

The Zumwalt is slated to hit the seas sometime in 2015.