Navy accepts Zumwalt as planned

The Navy has accepted the lead ship of its next-generation of multimission surface combatants, the Zumwalt, according to a May 20 service statement.

The Zumwalt (DDG-1000) is tailored for sustained operations in the littorals and land attack, and will provide support for special operations forces, joint and combined expeditionary forces.

"Ship delivery follows extensive tests, trials and demonstrations of the ship's Hull, Mechanical, and Electrical systems including the ship's boat handling, anchor and mooring systems as well as major demonstrations of the damage control, ballasting, navigation and communications systems," the statement reads.

Following delivery and a crew certification period at General Dynamics' Bath Iron Works facility in Maine, the Zumwalt will be commissioned in Baltimore, MD, on Oct. 15.

"Today represents a significant achievement for not only the DDG-1000 program and shipbuilding team but for the entire U.S. Navy," Rear Adm. (sel.) Jim Downey, DDG-1000 program manager, said in a statement. "This impressive ship incorporates a new design alongside the integration of sophisticated new technologies that will lead the Navy into the next generation of capabilities."