The Zumwalt Class destroyer, also known either as DD(X) or DDG-1000, is a planned class of United States Navy destroyers designed as multi-mission ships with a focus on land attack. The destroyer should have a radar cross section which is a 50-fold reduction compared to current destroyers. The lead ship is named USS Zumwalt for Admiral Elmo Zumwalt.
The class is a scaled-back project that emerged after funding cuts to the larger DD-21 vessel program.
On February 14, 2008, Bath Iron Works was awarded construction of the USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000), and Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding was awarded construction of DDG-1001, with a price of $1.4 billion each. According to Defense Industry Daily the cost will likely be $3.2 Billion per ship, plus $4 Billion life cycle cost per ship.
On July 22, 2008 it was reported that the DDG-1000 Zumwalt Class will be discontinued after the first two units are completed. But on August 21, 2008 it was revealed that negotiations between Congress and the United States Navy had led to reinstated funding for a third DDG-1000 Class vessel. The move came only a month after the Navy announced it would cap the Zumwalt program at two ships. The Senate had authorized $2.6 billion in funding for a third ship, while the House of Representatives had eliminated the money from its version of the defense appropriations bill.
In this context the status of the CG(X) Next Generation Cruiser (which was to have been a missile-defense variant of the DDG-1000) and the CGN(X) Nuclear Guided Missile Cruiser remains unclear.
It also raises larger questions about the viability of STOM (Ship-to-Objective Maneuver) OMFTS (Operational Maneuver from the Sea) along with the host of other programs that have been justified under these doctrinal constructs.
DDG-1000 should commission in the year 2013 and serve until 2053. DDG-1001 should commission a year later.