The U.S. Navy has commissioned the latest Zumwalt-class destroyer, USS Michael Monsoor
(DDG 1001).
It is the second warship of this class.
The warship is named after Michael Anthony Monsoor.
Michael Anthony Monsoor was a United States Navy SEAL who was killed during Operation
Iraqi Freedom and posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
USS Michael Monsoor was manufactured by shipbuilder General Dynamics Bath Iron Works.
The Zumwalt class of warships are the largest and technically most sophisticated guided-missile
destroyers of the US Navy.
In this video Defense Updates, analyzes why USS Michael Monsoor will be the most potent
destroyer to roam the ocean?
Let's get into the details.
USS Michael Monsoor is 610 feet in length, has a beam of 87 feet, draft of 27 feet and
displaces around 16000 tonnes.
Though large, it appears much smaller to radar because of its stealth design.
Stealthy design is mostly attributed to warplanes.
But Zumwalt-class brings the stealth to a major warship.
USS Michael Monsoor features a unique wave-piercing tumblehome hull.
The hull slopes inward from above the waterline which is very different from traditional hulls
which move outwards at a hard angle.
The design significantly reduces the radar cross-section since the slope makes the hull
return very less radar signal that is directed to it when compared to a traditional hull.
This makes the ship harder to detect and target.
Zumwalt is the first class of warship feature all-electric propulsion.
USS Michael Monsoor consists of an all-electric drive with an Integrated Power System.
The ship is powered by two Rolls-Royce main turbine generators, two Rolls-Royce auxiliary
turbine generators, two 34.6 MW induction motors enabling it to reach speeds up to 30-plus knots.
The electric propulsion system has many advantages.
The system eliminates the need for the drive shaft and many other heavyweight components.
This not only enables easier maintenance but also reduces the acoustic signature of the
warship making it harder to detect by sonars.
Importantly the system generates 58 MW of additional reserved power which allows the
leg room for future upgrades like integrating Laser weapons and Railguns.
USS Michael Monsoor uses extensive automation.
For example, the vessels of this class have an automated cargo handling system.
The automation reduces crew complement that is required to run the ship.
USS Michael Monsoor requires a minimum complement of 130 personnel which is, less than half
needed by similarly sized warships.
This will reduce operational costs as well as enable stocking more weapons which could
be crucial in a war scenario.
USS Michael Monsoor has two 155 mm caliber Advanced Gun System to execute long-range
artillery strikes at the range of more than 100 km.
Currently, the guns are lacking ammunition.
The Land Attack Projectile (LRLAP) that were developed for the purpose was rejected because
of the very high cost of $1 million per shell.
The U.S. Navy is yet to select a replacement but it is already evaluating multiple options.
One of the potential options is the HVP or Hyper Velocity Projectiles.
US Navy has recently tested it from Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Dewey.
To know more please referent to video on the above card.
USS Michael Monsoor also has 80 MK57 cells protected by Peripheral Vertical Launch System
(PVLS).
The PVLS is designed to reduce the chances of the risk of loss of the entire missile
battery or even the entire ship in case of the magazine explosion.
The system consists of pods of VLS cells that are placed in the outer shell of the ship’s
superstructure.
The outer shell is built with thin steel whereas the inner shell has thick steel.
This design configuration directs any forces of explosion outwards, reducing the chances
of crippling damage.
The important part is that each of these cells is capable of accommodating 4 different missiles
which include SM-1, SM-2, SM-6 missiles, Tomahawk land-attack missiles.
So, USS Michael Monsoor can go to a mission armed with different weapons payload depending
on the scenario.
SM1 is a medium-range surface-to-air missile (SAM), with a secondary role as an anti-ship
missile.
It has a range of 167 km and speed of Mach 3.5.
SM2 is an upgrade of SM1 with an increased range of 185 km and better sensor.
SM-6 is meant of anti-air warfare with a range of 240 km and speed of Mach 3.5.
The SM-6 can also function as a high-speed anti-ship missile.
Tomahawk land-attack missile is a long-range, all-weather, subsonic cruise missile.
It has a maximum range of 2500 km.
US Navy has given a contract to Lockheed Martine, the manufacture of Tomahawk to develop a Maritime
Strike Tomahawk which will play the role of the long-range anti-ship missile.