So a new ship design is needed:
The Navy has crammed as much electronics as it can into its new DDG-51 Flight III destroyers now beginning construction, Rear Adm. William Galinis said this morning. That drives the service towards a new Large Surface Combatant that can comfortably accommodate the same high-powered radars, as well as future weapons such as lasers, on either a modified DDG-51 hull or an entirely new design.
I've mentioned the electric power requirements for new systems.
The newest DDG-1000 Zumwalt class stealthy warship is only going to have three ships and is really just a test bed, although in war it would obviously be pressed into service.
Although I never understood the notion that the ship was designed to bombard the coast of China. Stealthy ship and non-stealthy explosions on Chinese soil? What could go wrong? Thank goodness that was dropped.
But I digress (as I can!).
As I've mentioned, the technology developed for Zumwalt will be useful for a future ship even though the cost of developing that technology that was counted against the DDG-1000 made the ship class too expensive to build in numbers. So the new surface capital ship will be pretty good, no doubt--and under budget!
