USS ‘Zumwalt’, a futuristic guided missile destroyer with superior stealth capabilities that cost American taxpayers some $4 billion, is rusting, new photos have revealed.
State-of-the-art stealth tech provides ‘Zumwalt’ with a radar cross-section similar to a fishing boat despite the ship’s length of 190 meters. But even this couldn’t conceal a rust problem with the vessel, which was commissioned in 2016 and has yet to be put in service.
Photos uploaded on social media earlier this week showed some of the destroyer’s radar-absorbent tiles changing color to dark orange and rust covering the vessel’s convex tumblehome hull.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="de" dir="ltr">USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) Zumwalt-class guided missile destroyer coming into San Diego - December 9, 2021 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/usszumwalt?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#usszumwalt</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ddg1000?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ddg1000</a><br><br>* photos courtesy of <a href="https://twitter.com/cjr1321?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@cjr1321</a> <a href="https://t.co/cdolINeBZZ">pic.twitter.com/cdolINeBZZ</a></p>— WarshipCam (@WarshipCam) <a href="https://twitter.com/WarshipCam/status/1469105669508849672?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 10, 2021</a></blockquote>
The US Navy said it’s waging “a constant battle against corrosion” when asked to comment on the appearance of its destroyer by the Drive website.
“The harsh environment in which we operate degrades our ships, and our sailors work hard to address corrosion along with all the maintenance and crew training required to sustain our navy’s warfighting readiness,” it pointed out.
‘Zumwalt’ is currently undergoing testing and training off southern California, with its homeport being San Diego Bay.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="de" dir="ltr">USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) Zumwalt-class guided missile destroyer coming into San Diego - December 9, 2021 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/usszumwalt?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#usszumwalt</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ddg1000?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ddg1000</a><br><br>* video courtesy of <a href="https://twitter.com/cjr1321?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@cjr1321</a> <a href="https://t.co/amUmCr72cD">pic.twitter.com/amUmCr72cD</a></p>— WarshipCam (@WarshipCam) <a href="https://twitter.com/WarshipCam/status/1469382721483022346?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 10, 2021</a></blockquote>
The composite materials used in the ship are supposed to reduce corrosion. However, according to the Drive, its stealth coating could be harder to maintain than the normal surfaces of other ships in the US Navy.
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<img src="https://cdni.rt.com/files/2021.12/thumbnail/61b1441a85f5403c3f5d1b99.JPG" alt="File photo: Virginia-class attack submarine USS John Warner (SSN 785) in Newport News shipyard, August 31, 2014." />
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Another factor likely aggravating the rust issue is the minimal manning concept employed on ‘Zumwalt’.
Automation allows it to function with a crew of only 175 people, so there simply might not be enough hands on board to scrub the corrosion off.