US Navy Zumwalt-class destroyer Lyndon B. Johnson achieved an important milestone.

General Dynamics Bath Iron Works has announced on May 1, 2020, that the Zumwalt-class destroyer Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG 1002) achieved an important milestone today – the Data Center Light-Off for the ship’s Total Computing Environment, which brings the Ship Mission Center to life.

U.S. Navy USS Lyndon B. Johnson  DDG-1002 Zumwalt-class destroyer. (Picture source General Dynamics)

USS Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG-1002) will be the third and final Zumwalt-class destroyer built for the United States Navy. The contract to build her was awarded to Bath Iron Works located in Bath, Maine, on 15 September 2011. The ceremonial keel laying of Lyndon B. Johnson took place on 30 January 2017, by which time construction of the ship was over half finished. The ship was launched in Bath, Maine, on 9 December 2018, and christened on 27 April 2019, by Johnson's daughters, Luci and Lynda.

The Zumwalt-class destroyer is a class of three United States Navy guided missile destroyers designed as multi-mission stealth ships with a focus on land attack. It is a multi-role class that was designed for secondary roles of surface warfare and anti-aircraft warfare and originally designed with a primary role of naval gunfire support.

The Zumwalt-class (DDG 1000) is the largest and most technologically advanced surface combatant in the world. USS Zumwalt is the lead ship of a class of next-generation multi-mission destroyers designed to strengthen naval power from the sea.

DDG 1000 is the first U.S. Navy surface combatant to employ an innovative and highly survivable Integrated Power System (IPS). Key design features that make the DDG 1000 IPS architecture unique include the ability to provide power to propulsion, ship's service, and combat system loads from the same gas turbine prime movers. DDG 1000's power allocation flexibility allows for potentially significant energy savings and is well-suited to enable future high energy weapons and sensors.

The wave-piercing tumblehome hull design has facilitated a wide array of advancements. The composite superstructure significantly reduces radar cross section and other signatures, making the ship harder to detect by enemies at sea. The design also allows for optimal manning with a standard crew size of 147 sailors, plus an air detachment of 28 thereby decreasing lifecycle operations and support costs.

The Zumwalt-class destroyer is equipped with 20 four-cell PVLS (Peripheral Vertical Launch System) situated around the perimeter of the deck. The system consists of pods of VLS cells distributed around the outer shell of the ship, with a thin steel outer shell and a thick inner shell.

The Zumwalt-class destroyer is also armed with two 155 mm naval guns able to fire Long Range Land Attack Projectile (LRLAP). This projectile is a rocket with a warhead fired from the AGS gun. The warhead has an 11 kg / 24 lb bursting charge and has a circular error probable of 50 meters. This weapon system has a range of 154 km.

Lyndon B. Johnson, the last Zumwalt, is being considered for the installation of a railgun in place of one of the 155 mm naval guns after the ship is built.