New US destroyer - one weird looking ship !

[MartG]

Quite apart from its captains name ( http://news.yahoo.com/captain-kirk-navy-destroyer-... ) this is one weird looking ship !

[amancalledrob]

Wow. I guess the slanting sides and general lack of any vertical surfaces is designed to reduce its radar signature. Looks cool.

[supertouring]

It needs renaming to "Enterprise" now, surely?

[mrmr96]

amancalledrob said:

Wow. I guess the slanting sides and general lack of any vertical surfaces is designed to reduce its radar signature. Looks cool.

I think it's the flatness of the sides rather than the angle.

Imagine each side was a mirror and you were stood a long way away. There would only be one exact position from which you'd be able to see your own reflection in the surface. And if you're doing 500mph it would only be fleeting.

Compare that with a mirror ball (disco ball). You'll be able to spot a little bit of yourself in at least one of the mirrors almost all the time.

Radar works by sending out a signal and looking for the reflection. Which is why stealth craft have flat surfaces and few curves, so that most of the time the radar source does not get a reflection back.

[tank slapper]

The picture above is quite deceptive - that ship is huge for a destroyer. It's as long as HMS Belfast (which is a cruiser), 20 feet wider and 4000 tons heavier.

[TTwiggy]

200 years ago they'd have christened that the 'carpenter's mistake'

[Simpo Two]

Full circle!

[TorqueVR]

It's pretty obvious what's gone on here. The big bit at the top is the keel and they'be built it upside down!

[amancalledrob]

mrmr96 said:

amancalledrob said:

Wow. I guess the slanting sides and general lack of any vertical surfaces is designed to reduce its radar signature. Looks cool.

I think it's the flatness of the sides rather than the angle.

Imagine each side was a mirror and you were stood a long way away. There would only be one exact position from which you'd be able to see your own reflection in the surface. And if you're doing 500mph it would only be fleeting.

Compare that with a mirror ball (disco ball). You'll be able to spot a little bit of yourself in at least one of the mirrors almost all the time.

Radar works by sending out a signal and looking for the reflection. Which is why stealth craft have flat surfaces and few curves, so that most of the time the radar source does not get a reflection back.

That makes sense. Thanks for the explanation. I thought the angles were all about helping the outgoing 'ping' bounce back in directions other than the one from which it came. The mirrorball is a good analogy though

[Mr Sparkle]

I would have thought having a bow shaped like that would make it crap in heavy seas.

[Jimbo.]

It's a ship Jim, but not as we know it!

[FourWheelDrift]

tank slapper said:

The picture above is quite deceptive - that ship is huge for a destroyer. It's as long as HMS Belfast (which is a cruiser), 20 feet wider and 4000 tons heavier.

I've seen that somewhere before............

[probedb]

There's quite a lot of info on Wikipedia... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zumwalt_class_destroy...

[tank slapper]

Mr Sparkle said:

I would have thought having a bow shaped like that would make it crap in heavy seas.

It's a wave piercing design. The idea is that it goes through the waves rather than over them, with less pitching and a more comfortable ride.

[telecat]

Weird class name as well "Zumwalt". They appear to be building only three as the USN reckons they would rather have the "older" Arleigh Burke class ships in a numbers not quality shift. If they do work I expect a smaller less pricey version to appear.

[FourWheelDrift]

telecat said:

Weird class name as well "Zumwalt".

http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elmo_Zumwalt

[BryanUsrey]

I would say I'm proud to be American looking at that ship, but considering its cost, hard not to imagine that money could have gone elsewhere. Not like the current destroyer crop is out of date by any means.

[saaby93]

Completely invisible to radar? Back to binoculars

[FourWheelDrift]

saaby93 said:

Completely invisible to radar? Back to binoculars

Back to dazzle camouflage then as well



And the have started it again on the USS Mel Gibson - http://news.usni.org/2013/03/01/camouflaged-ships-...

[Simpo Two]

Wouldn't they do better to paint trees on it and make it look like an island? Nobody's going to be fooled by a giant pointy floating zebra...