General Dynamics Bath Iron Works shipyard, a subsidiary of General Dynamics responsible for the construction of the U.S. Navy’s largest, stealth destroyer, USS Zumwalt, has shared a photo of the 16,000-ton destroyer leaving the port for final trials.
The first-of-class ship in December got underway for the first set of trials. You can watch the video of the ship’s maiden sail here .
USS Zumwalt’s delivery was pushed from September 2014 to November 2015 due to issues that arose because of the challenges with the integration, installation and testing of the high-tech components on the new class of warships.
The U.S. Navy initially intended to build 32 of these ships but due to massive cost overruns, the number of vessels to be constructed was reduced to three. The reported price tag of $4,4 billion for the first ship, double the amount needed to build the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, even lead some officials to propose abandoning the program altogether.
Once the ship completes its trials, it is expected to be homeported at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia.
Photo: General Dynamics Bath Iron Works