Where is America's Stealth Destroyer?

[@Taskandpurpose]

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[@ansonellis443]

Do a video on Sakartvelo/Georgia

[@theredbaron2313]

How you doing, it must be hard pumping out content this often.

[@eliasmai6170]

how much of the Zuwalt is made from aluminum?

[@ArandomPerson7996]

Do a vid on the AK 5

[@djzrobzombie2813]

What happened to the RAH-66 Comanche????😮 You should ask yourself the same question Cappy 😂😂😂

[@brianfarrell4987]

A family friend of mine was a prominent member of DDG-1000s design team, and this was pretty much his life’s work. It crushed him to see Zumwalt squandered because of conflicting philosophies demanded by the CNOs. I was invited to DDG-1000’s commissioning in Baltimore and it truly was a spectacle. Something I’ll never forget.

[@karlphillips8310]

The technology and innovations will probably make their way into a future design ship in the future - those things last longer than the platforms themselves if that is any consulation.

[@djzrobzombie2813]

What happened to the RAH-66 Comanche????😮 You should ask yourself the same question Cappy 😂😂😂

[@strykrpinoy]

@@rael5469 Its actually one of the highlights of it.

[@UniversalMusicLtd584]

Wow can't imagine. the closest I have seen is the visby class and even at its small size its presence was other worldly, Musta been a real sight.

[@strykrpinoy]

@@rael5469 Its actually one of the highlights of it.

[@jasoncox9883]

Passed away……I was serving in the Navy at that time. Thank you for being respectful. Don’t see that much these days. Got a subscriber now. Great channel and topics.

[@niczim123]

Respect.

[@DRKttv]

My father worked on the project and all he really conveyed over the years was frustration from drafting room all the way through production. I’m sure the navy is dealing with plenty of it as well while operating it. It’s an absolutely incredible ship technology wise but man it was a headache.

[@mack1691]

If you watch The Pentagon Wars that pretty much sums it up.

[@goldenhate6649]

Welcome to having an entire admiralty staff of activists and politicians and not combat veterans... The Navy's admirals are a god damn disgrace these last 40 years. The short tenure I had to deal with their stupidity was painful.

[@lgd1974]

Cappy, thank you for this. I had been out of the Navy 10 years when I started following the DDG-1000 program. I remember early declassified DARPA videos of the tumblehome hull. When the 29 ships were canceled and the ammo was not bought, I was really disappointed.

[@EvanSchlegelmilch]

“Failing its way to success” - favorite quote from this episode!

[@aurorauplinks]

yea that was a great one haha

[@pietermoorer3679]

It is even worse then the fucked up F-35. At least that shit gets sold to supporting countries.. Which leaves them without a functioning military which is becoming very obvious now, with the war in Urkaine.

[@azxctr]

Man, everytime I see you posted a new video it gets me excited. Easy to understand while remaining informative, yet delivered with exactly the right amount of jokes and charm to make it entertaining. So many military/war KZbinrs are either too dramatic and depressing, too biased or too serious. Usually a combination of them. Keep doing what you do man. Hooah?

[@Taskandpurpose]

hoooOoOoAaaaAhhh glad you dig the vibe man !

[@richardc7941]

😊

[@kivenbaltazar6060]

Agree to this

[@oswb8225]

Cappy is awesome

[@bafa000]

"Hooah".... .........................

[@blowe85206]

The radar cross section is 100 percent fact. I was sitting just off of San Diego by Zuniga when it pulled into port for the first times and on radar it was massive from a certain angle. It made one turn in the channel and it shrunk to almost nothing. Seeing it on screen and then looking up at it was a trip.

[@Kriss_L]

The RCS doesn't matter that much though if the ship is using it's SPY radar though.

[@tonymorris4335]

@@Kriss_L Not at all true, it's phased array and sweeps in a manner that it really doesn't provide the enemy with a way to easily resolve the location it's coming from. Otherwise stealth aircraft would be entirely useless and pointless. Source - RF Metrologist from the USAF

[@Kriss_L]

@@tonymorris4335 As a retired US Navy CT I'd say that that metrologist doesn't know much about SIGINT.

[@outkast937]

Well to be fair, thats true of literally any stealth thing. Same goes for the F-22, F-35, etc. From the front, it's invisible to anything but high powered search radar, and that will only give you a tiny, almost insignificant return, targeting radar sees nothing, From the side, top, bottom, its a bit more visible, from the back... Yeahhh even the Russians can find a raptor if it points its ass at the radar

[@outkast937]

​@@tonymorris4335if your radar is on, youre visible. Doesnt matter how stealthy you are, that radar is a neon sign screaming IM HERE!!!!! SHOOT MEEEEEE!!!! You try lighting up that radar when youre trying not to get seen, if theres a single HARM anywhere in range, you are fucked. Its gonna track your radar and its going remove you from existence. Sure, try the countermeasures and show everyone where you are so they can get pointed the right way and run a bi static radar search and send some more shit at you, as well as visual targeted weaponry.

[@jameskrivda1151]

I remember seeing the Zumwalt years ago when I stopped at the old fishing pier on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. What an amazing looking piece of American ingenuity. I also was lucky enought to spot the USS Bainbridge at a different time at the same location.

[@Amblix]

worked on development of this ship's systems for almost 6 years, through the initial cancellation attempts/steps around 2008. years of working 80 to over 100 hours a week. controversial is an understatement. this ship's design, it's development at every level, and management of the project at every level was filled with controversy. nevertheless, i'll never forget my years working it; was a great experience and will always look back fondly.

[@Triple_J.1]

Ben Rich's Book, "Skunk Works", details a proposal to the Navy for a stealth fleet of destroyers, missile boats, and invisible to sonar submarines. In the late-1970s. They didn't want any of it. Skunk Works could have done a design project in secret with a low budget and made a semi mass producible prototype without anyone knowing about it. Meaning nobody to ruin it. Then coulda just made it more mainstream like Skunkworks F-117 and now F-35 is a regular old Lockheed product.

[@GeneralJackRipper]

Can we have our money back please? We're 30 trillion in debt and we need to recoup some useless expenditures.

[@lgd1974]

Thank you for your work!

[@MoGumbo_]

@@GeneralJackRipper tf you want him to do

[@poindextertunes]

@@MoGumbo_i think he’s being facetious

[@JoeyCarb]

What's so frustrating about the guns is that we already have an extended range gps and laser guided 155 round in the excalibur. All they had to do was add a rocket assist. No need to reinvent the wheel.

[@adamb8317]

But then Lockheed would not get their sweet sweet government contracting dollars.

[@Azerkeux]

@@adamb8317 absolutely this- waste and corruption are integral to the defense dept, who else is gonna buy those executives their 6th vacation home

[@adamb8317]

@@Azerkeux I think a Zumwalt that 100% up to design specs would have been incredible. But not really necessary. We need a newer destroyer that does have some of these capabilities but also a robust anti drone and drone launching capacity.

[@Schmidty1]

Tech developed for the Zumwalt is used on the Gerald R. Ford class carriers.

[@user-McGiver]

it will stay in history next to the F-117... [they even look alike] just wait till the next gen ships [based on it] come up...

[@DetectiveLance]

People forget that the r&d for some projects find new homes in other ones

[@tomhenry897]

Don’t they have problems with there toliets

[@user-McGiver]

@@tomhenry897 Nah!... ''their toilets'' ( that's how to spell it...) are stainless steel not ''for ruZZian to steal''...

[@e2rqey]

It was used as the test bed for a whole lot of naval technology

[@NoTengoDinero69]

As someone who was raised by a father that had a deep love for military history and bought me plenty of books on the topics I love your channel. Definitely good for getting some unbiased breakdowns of modern military topics without worrying about needless political POV eating up time. Just the facts are appreciated!

[@nothingtoseaheardammit]

Was walking the dogs out on the Eastern Prom in Portland ME with the Zum was going through sea trials and just ghosted into Portland Harbor through a dense fog layer. It was eerie and amazing to see. Some know-nothings nearby started freaking out because they didn't know what it was.

[@Phrancis5]

I toured one of those Zumwalts during fleet week in Portland Oregon. Very futuristic looking, but the CIC was running old Windows on all the screens LOL.

[@angis888]

...and then you woke up....😁 just joking, its cool story, for real. it do look like: "wtf is this?" type of thing 😁

[@bredsheeran2897]

Fellow Mainer here, it makes me super proud that my state has been able to do this, and I live more inland towards Sebago

[@angis888]

@@bredsheeran2897Maine seems like my type of state if I would be American 😁 the climate and nature is totally my type.

[@robertkeyes258]

@@bredsheeran2897 yup Mainer as well, up towards Greenville. I don't think we need any of this in Lake Moosehead but mmmaybe.

[@jaime683]

Cappy, early in design, one of the two competing teams proposed replacing the guns with a VLS full of low cost land attack missiles. The analysis concluded that it was more effective and cheaper. But, as you said, there was that law in the books.

[@grahamstrouse1165]

Problem is we don’t HAVE a low-cost land-attack missile either. TLAM costs a couple million per fire….

[@kevadu]

Fun fact: the name 'destroyer' originally was just short for 'torpedo boat destroyer'. After the invention of the torpedo it was realized that a swarm of small, cheap torpedo boats posed a serious risk to larger capitol ships (before torpedoes they couldn't really do any damage to them) and there was a need for escort ships that could accompany the larger ships and screen them from small torpedo boats. As aircraft and submarines were developed the role of the destroyer was expanded to include defending against those threats as well. But also destroyers started to be armed with torpedoes themselves to give them more offensive capability. And with the development of long-range anti-ship missiles destroyers have been given more and more offensive capabilities over the years...and now 'frigates' serve the primarily defensive role that destroyers once did. ...basically nobody can agree on what any of these names mean anyway.

[@Marveryn]

yep. going by the old system zumwalt should had been classfied as a cruiser not a destroyer as destroyer were met to be easily replace if sunk. Light on crew. navy was willing to lose two or 3 destroyer if it meant saving a battleship. Later they became convey escorts and giving more anti sub package.

[@TAPATIOPLEASE]

I always wander when I hear cruiser , frigates and destroyers I literally just class them as smaller ships in the group bc I personally don't know

[@xantares13]

Destroyers destroy, Cruisers cruise, Battleships battle ships, and Aircraft Carriers carry aircraft

[@TAPATIOPLEASE]

@@xantares13 so cruisers are just live shields that cruise on the sides as cover?

[@KraziEyevin]

​@@TAPATIOPLEASEnah, they're the ships you have cruising the seas. Battleships are expensive, keep them where the biggest threats might be and let the cruisers cruise.

[@johnr1840]

In keeping with the futuristic design of the ship, the navy selected Captain James Kirk as the first commanding officer!

[@davemsh]

Cool! Thanks of that tidbit. Would've been cooler if he had commanded the USS Enterprise!

[@AzrealMaximus]

​@@davemshwell he's Captain James "A" Kirk. Gotta work up to Tiberius🤷‍♂️

[@fallinginthed33p]

"Captain Kirk" on the Zumwalt sounds a bit strange. Just rename the ship Enterprise...

[@davemsh]

@@fallinginthed33p There’s already an aircraft carrier named Enterprise. Besides, he’s already retired as an admiral.

[@Menaceblue3]

​@@davemsh Admiral James Kirk? Just like in the movies!

[@EyeOnVenture]

20-year puddle pirate here. Other than my days on an 82-foot cutter (that no longer exists in active duty anywhere), most of my duty was boarding cargo ships, container ships, ro-ro's, tankers, etc. So most of that time was on other people's ship's, conducting inspections in port. Love your stuff!

[@swordmaster2k1]

4-year Coastie here. Plenty of boardings here too during the days of the DOG and immediately afterward. Thanks for your service shipmate and glad you love the videos!

[@mikechristopherson6035]

@@swordmaster2k1 Thanks for serving in the Coast Guard. It's important work.

[@scott_hunts]

I had one go by me once while fishing. The wake was massive, and the waves caused some of the nearby riverbank to calve off and fall into the water.

[@Taskandpurpose]

wish the zumwalt would splish splash me

[@navb0tactual]

Keep it in your standard issued pants Cappy

[@miming3679]

​@@navb0tactualit looks like he already splish splashed his pants

[@polnoeceloe]

To date, this seems to be the only achievement of this ship

[@MadWizard89]

man i love your balance between technical facts and fun analogies.

[@michaelross1464]

"What a beautiful CF" great line and so very descriptive! :)

[@Warshipmodelsunderway]

Fun fact, the Ticonderoga class cruisers were originally designated guided missile destroyers, which made sense as they were built on a Spruance class destroyer hull. They were re-designated because of the cost per unit. A Zumwalt has fewer VLS cells that a Burke class destroyer, which also has a 5" gun. I don't know why they didn't fit a conventional 5" in at least one of the spaces available in the Zumwalt to give her at least some capability. Or, work with the Army, which has it's own advanced gun system using a rocket assisted projectile. Or just convert the guns to use standard 155mm shells. Perhaps the hypersonic option will be workable, but I note that missile only ships have never been popular, and that even the USS Long Beach (CGN-9) had a couple of 5" guns added to her.

[@djinn666]

Missile ships become useful when facing a high-threat environment with many well-defended targets. The goal is to get in range as quickly as possible, launch what you can and escape to a safe distance. A gun is just dead weight. Meanwhile, against weak targets such as pirates on speedboats, naval guns are very useful. That's a lot more common of a problem than near-peer conflicts, and so navy officers with tons of experience dealing with those end up choosing a ship with guns. However, I would argue that having a ship that performs poorly against pirates isn't a big issue. Even if you fail, some other military asset can take care of it later. But when you have a near-peer conflict, you'd absolutely want the best ship for the job.

[@AbuHajarAlBugatti]

Ticonderoga must stay reserved for lazer scifi ships

[@nvelsen1975]

@@djinn666 "A gun is just dead weight". You do realise half the Russian navy has gotten f*cked because their ships don't have enough guns and rely on missiles right? Their navy is losing a naval war to Ukraine, which doesn't even have a navy.

[@ajseastrand]

They will eventually get a directed energy weapon I bet. Kind of makes sense if we refer back to that hybrid energy system huh? Almost like that was the plan all along lol. Remember they just revealed that the Ford will be arming with DE weapons ( probably already is ) The laser would not only give the zumwalt a low cost directed weapon but it could possibly cure the “ vulnerability “ issue from anti-ship missiles. Those turret areas were supposed to be modular anyways if I remember correctly.

[@sawyerlachance7745]

The Army's M982 is a modified version of the Navy's projectile. Thats why its so cheap. The navy essentialy footed the development cost and acted as a test bed for the eventual army proposal.

[@luciusvorenus9445]

Fair Winds and Following Seas, ADM Boorda. From E-1 high school dropout to CNO. A sailor's sailor who cared about the Enlisted Sailors and his Navy.

[@leokim2998]

Cappy is well known for some interesting pronunciations. I wasn't watching the video(I was listening) and I couldn't figure out who he was talking about until he said that the Admiral passed away. I was wondering who Admiral "Bordar" was... I was in NROTC when that happened so it was big news. I always thought it was pronounced "Board-uh."

[@gregorynelson2327]

One of the best yet, your turning into an investigative reporter. GJ

[@drsybaris]

Outstanding, Chris. A great recanting of the history and update of the status of the Zumwalt.

[@Nr15121]

It’s insane the level of incompetence that this ship suffered from in the procurement process. It had true potential but now it is much larger than a Burke destroyer and holds far fewer missiles.

[@goldenhate6649]

If the guns actually worked, it would be a really good ship. Good for shore bombardment, anti-ship warfare etc. But instead we get a half ass missile boat that would have been better off with 2 5 inch guns that is the epitome of how bad the navy admirals have gotten.

[@-UNKNOWN-13]

They are going to ditch the forward guns and add more vertical launch cells. If I remember correctly it will have a possible 200 missile armament.

[@Nr15121]

@@-UNKNOWN-13 I think they’re adding larger cells that can accommodate bigger hypersonics where the gun mounts are

[@ravensmill3927]

"Destroyers like the *Zumwalt* are in the Middle of the spectrum...which is exactly what my doctor told me I am!" 🤣You totally got me with that one! I didn't see it coming.

[@Taskandpurpose]

I have my 'tism is well under control : D

[@mudhutonthemoon]

@@Taskandpurpose I try to suppress mine!

[@plasmamusic8402]

@@Taskandpurpose I hide mine in public but if someone brings up the EA18G all tism stealth drops

[@331SVTCobra]

A Zumwalt is basically a submarine that can operate helos. ... it can only dive once though.

[@Phrancis5]

I toured one of those Zumwalts during fleet week in Portland Oregon. Very futuristic looking, but the CIC was running old Windows on all the screens LOL. No one can predict the future, so trying new (unfortunately expensive) concepts is the only way to stay ahead of the competition.

[@mawnkey]

You realize Microsoft still provides security fixes and some times even feature requests for older versions of Windows if you're willing to pay enough for them, right? Windows NT 4.0 was still being supported for bank ATMs with security patches when Windows 7 was a thing. And the nice part with an older version: the interface doesn't constantly change so soldiers always know where everything is in the heat of combat. They don't need to run the latest version of Steam or be able to install the newest version of Quickbooks. They need their software to run reliably and predictably in a consistent environment. They can either build and maintain their own bespoke environment (which has its own massive headaches) _or_ use a consistent interface almost every soldier is guaranteed to have some familiarity with requiring minimal training.

[@DavidHalko]

@@mawnkey- the smaller the code base & longer it has been bug fixed, the more reliable it should become… windows or no windows

[@Phrancis5]

@@mawnkey Yeah, I know. I work in tech and had worked in the Fed gov for yrs using Win NT. I get the reasons for sticking with what works and is familiar. It just looks antiquated on the most futuristic looking ship.

[@jaybee9269]

Sure they were…security would have been downgraded because you were there.

[@Abandonsoyciety]

​@@mawnkeyMicrosoft should have thought about that before forcing everyone from windows 7, I know you forgot about windows 8 being dog shit but I won't, cause coding became that much more annoying

[@azlaw5581]

Working on the overhaul of this ship right now. Awesome vessel if you asked me. Thank you for this video, it really helps me to understand the system I now work on everyday.

[@JOSyKo]

Love the Picard reference! Specifically because back in 2016 The USS Zumwalt had a captain by the name of James Kirk.

[@SamtheIrishexan]

Naval guns are cool though. Something gorgeous about knowing 100s of miles a way a massive shell is launched to plug the enemy

[@AbyssWatcher745]

And still cheaper than missiles if only the production wasn't cancelled

[@vipondiu]

The comparison between the Zumwalt and Inspector Gadget is spot on

[@samuelzackrisson8865]

the interesting thing with tumbleholm hull shape is that it can be really stabile but when it gets a hull breach it loses stability really quick

[@samuelzackrisson8865]

@@rael5469 correct

[@Adierit]

@@rael5469 It has a very low amount of the ship below the water line compared to other designs, which means when it starts flooding with water it quickly rolls over and capsizes.

[@JCMills55]

Relying solely on missiles reminds of the fiasco with the F-4 Phantom not having any machine guns, only missiles. The Generals assumed actual 'dogfighting' was a thing of the past and launching missiles from long range was the only option. Needles to say they did add guns to the F-4's and all fighters since have machine guns. (I was a crew chief on fighters in the USAF).

[@Miamcoline]

Never understood exactly what went wrong with this, even when I was a weapons analyst. Thank you for untangling that mess for what is a very cool peace of technology and deterrent. Great analysis as always.

[@GUNNAMANE]

Man this is crazy, I’ve spent the last few days looking for some good zumwalt content. Like legit researched content, not AI-voiced shorts with a chatGPT-generated scripts. Appreciate you putting this out, good stuff bro.

[@blockmg9425]

To be honest I really like that ship appearance and design. It's to much of a oddball that I like it.

[@beachcomberbob3496]

Nice to see that we're going back to Tumblehome hull designs - just like the Royal Navy ships of the late 1800s!

[@KennethReynolds-d4u]

I worked on that program. It was the best run program I have ever worked on. I hope it proves all the people who think it was a waste of money wrong. It will be a great ship.

[@cmedtheuniverseofcmed8775]

I not only served in the Navy several years ago, but we had the Zumwalt actually dock next to the ship that I served aboard. The poor vessel broke down in the Guadalcanal, and it had to be tugged back to port. However, it was still a pretty ship to look at.

[@alexhuntercdc5151]

The 1000 on the hull stands for the amount of money it wastes every second of existence

[@erikabloodaxe2581]

Sounds like a company venture capitalists can’t wait to invest in

[@trollmastermike52845]

With that money could have re modernized the iowas

[@Foenem521]

Lmfao

[@OneShot_G]

​@@trollmastermike52845the iowas are the opposite of stealth and in a completely different class

[@tomstarcevich1147]

Exactly 💯 💯 💯 😮😮😮😮

[@kumarsalib722]

We need to cancel more programs that aren't delivering rather than pouring more money on the fire.

[@C21H30O2]

But there's too much money to be made by the people who make the decisions in this country. We're screwed.

[@kevinsierra482]

the zumwalt was made with a massive power output.... maybe it can take on a massive laser weapon system

[@nathanthanatos3743]

We need to remember what the word 'amortize' means, every time budget cuts are considered. It became uneconomical after the hulls were canceled.

[@theubiquitouspotato]

Mate the US history is littered with "failed" programmes that lead to technologies that where adopted in later systems. The zumwalts are fantastic ships they just have no ammo they where built for technologies that never came about.

[@viktornicht260]

No, we don't. If we cancel every program whenever something becomes unorthodox, unusual or more difficult than expected, we won't ever get anywhere. Nothing great ever comes out of running around and canceling stuff.

[@tracym8952]

Literally wondered about the Ole zumwalt last night. Good timing Cappy

[@djzrobzombie2813]

What happened to the RAH-66 Comanche????😮 You should ask yourself the same question Cappy 😂😂😂

[@SpankyK]

7:33 I remember this issue of Popular Mechanics. I'm sure I'm wrong but I believe it was in Popular Mechanics.

[@joekerby6330]

Being a Sonar technician on a Knox class destroyer I noticed the DDG 1000 transducer in the front, amazing new design, wish I could see a schematic

[@furmanmackey5479]

As a now long retired SMC told me back in 2012....The Navy screwed the pooch with the Zumwalt and the two LCVs designs because they were under armed, under crewed, under armored, and way overpriced for what the Navy actually expected and needed.

[@BoringAngler]

If the AGS was compatible with the "vanilla" 155mm ammo used by the ground forces at least there would be something the Zumwalts could shoot.

[@BravoCheesecake]

The fact that they're currently outfitting the missile tubes in Ingals right now means that Conventional Prompt Strike is fully operational.

[@Trvp-_-god-]

This ship arrived at my shipyard a couple months ago for repairs it’s still here

[@GTFBITK]

I designed the destroyer shortly after I designed the Tesla truck back in 1st grade. I actually when to Fisher Mitchell in Bath Maine.

[@NightWatch1337]

What a rollercoaster that was! Thanks Chris, great content as always 👍

[@andrewday3206]

NAMMO ramjet artillery rounds among with hypersonic missiles would be insane on the Zumwalt. The current 155mm NAMMO rounds are already showing 62-93 miles of range. Going with longer barrels would just add range. They use less initial propellant and have barrels that last a very long time.

[@longiusaescius2537]

Why didn't they add them?

[@Merecir]

@@longiusaescius2537 Norwegian/Finnish company.

[@davidkauppi7169]

I've got a 155 mm LRLAP demonstration round in my garage, minus the fins. Man, is it heavy.

[@thestrykernet]

Love this video (though you should have mentioned the unique VLS and how it's different). I hope you'll do something on the Arleigh Burkes and how they're holding capability back due to the platform which isn't an issue the Zumwalt would have had. I certainly understand what led to the cancelation of the Zumwalt, but capability wise it's beginning to look as dumb as only buying 3 Seawolfs.

[@wstavis3135]

Or cancelling the F-22 at 187 units?

[@tonymorris4335]

Nah that will have turned out to be a good decision for the same reason as the arleigh burkes. Having worked with it it's a fantastic jet but the electronics were built from the 90s before modularity was as strong as it is today. Look into the issues we've had updating the software and hardware from the original gear and you'll see why the USAF wants to retire them already.@@wstavis3135

[@Cyliem]

It looks so sleek and futuristic. I say make more of it not because of it's capabilities but because it just looks cool. 😎

[@jaybee9269]

Hear, hear.

[@hunterlabbe6668]

I got to work on ddg 1002 (USS LBJ) and she’s a damn sight different from flight 2A burkes I’d worked on before

[@vjness101]

Holy cow I had no idea we had radars like the X-Band , that's bonkers detection range

[@JosephHarner]

It's a pretty deceptive claim, though. Picking up faint signals is only a small part of the problem. When that signal is masked by clutter or noise, good luck! You can spot a candle with your bare eyes from miles away. But only during the night. A telescope could spot that candle during the day, but point that telescope at a candle between you and the sun and you'll blind yourself before you spot the candle, even one close enough to see with the naked eye.

[@trolleriffic]

It's a very big radar that operates at high power levels. Some of the older ballistic missile tracking and warning radars operated at up to 100 megawatts.

[@lil__shmeat]

Came for the thumbnail, stayed for the excellent content

[@langhamp8912]

Never thought I'd hear "sustainable" and "artillery shells" in the same sentence.

[@Abandonsoyciety]

Then you haven't read enough ww1 history

[@langhamp8912]

@@Abandonsoyciety No, I haven't. As a layman, I didn't understand how artillery worked on the battlefield and in logistics until I read Thomas Huber's "Japan's Battle of Okinawa".

[@dannywainwrightq7828]

In a war , near peer, I think it would shine as a game changer , in conjunction with the ghost fleet...

[@melapelan2596]

When I worked on Coronado Island, as I was clocking in to my job, I turned around and saw this huge ass ship passing by under the Coronado bridge and man was it cool to see something so advanced and rare

[@viewer3412]

Hey, Cappy, I love this clip! The jokes and news in it kept my attention. I like the “Puddle Pirate” quip and the flip-flop development of the DDG1K: it’s as comical as the “Pentagon Wars” movie (development of the Bradley). My personal opinion: Gotta keep our naval production capacity up, so building crappy ships during peacetime as welfare-for-ship builders is fine with me. I firmly believe the Arsenal ship is better for today: a modular launch platform for missiles of all types as well as DRONES-A Gawd awful lot. Loitering, attritable, swarm, whatever… if I had my way, the drones launched would support fighters launched from aircraft carriers, then recovered. The Arsenal ship doesn’t have to be fancy, just a converted, double hulled, container ship to hold a forest of launch cells. In the end, peacetime is an opportunity to build cutting edge stuff because there’s no enemy to poke holes in gold-plated ships. The LCS’s were a good try, now going big(ger) is more cost effective and making changes to big hulled ships are all the easier as technology changes too. If a conflict does break out, a crash build program to spit out newer ships incorporating successful new techs will be better than starting from scratch with a dilapidated ship building infrastructure and unproven technologies. Keep up the good work!

[@kkang2828]

I think the Zumwalt class, or at least it’s concept, will be useful eventually. Our current technology level regarding stuff like hypersonics, rail guns, and lasers just haven’t caught up with the Zumwalt’s potential yet. (The LCS was the real USN failure of the century) Meanwhile we can all enjoy just how futuristic she looks 😊

[@tyharris9994]

As of last month our interest payment on the national debt now exceeds what we spend on national defense and social security. If we don't balance our budget soon there aren't going to BE any futuristic ship designs. We are going to wind up like the UK - priced out of the Navy business.

[@HectorRoldan]

Making these able to go underwater just deep enough to avoid Munitions would be epic and expensive.. Plus maybe a little more stealthy in other situations.

[@James-bw4np]

A Zumwalt size "semi-submersible" vessel that can be the most annoying whack-a-mole ever? Put some good electronic counter measures on that and an "Iron Dome" system... well that would be terrifying.

[@CharliMorganMusic]

Or... make a submarine

[@freetrade8830]

Why not make them fly into outer space while you're at it?

[@James-bw4np]

@@freetrade8830 cause re-entry damages the stealth coating.

[@danbardos3498]

​@@James-bw4npNot is you put the word "Space" in front of it. Might as well add "Tatical" while we're at it. Tactical Space Stealth Coating Fixed! 😅

[@AtomicBuffalo]

Thank you for providing the historical context and development history of this ship class. It answers the smug “what were they thinking?” And “how could they screw up so much?” questions common to Internet Digest takes. It seems what we have now is a development platform for future weapons, and a lot of lessons learned.

[@sitechca70]

Ha! I recognized the USS Cunningham at 7:38. Wish they'd build it, now that's a real multi-mission destroyer.

[@RonLWilson]

Having Stealth might work well with having hypersonic missiles in that they can act independently to hit high value targets while being hard to spot and ID if they travel where there are lots of small ships that have about the same radar signature. It is sort of like being able to make a one ship Doolittle raid.

[@Jeff55369]

paired what that radar ghosting tech the airforce has, you could make a single "fishing boat" look like a fleet of fishing boats.

[@MajorBorris]

Advanced naval designs take so long to build and implement that the US Navy's missions and strategy may change before they reach operational status. Had the US Navy still required an advanced littoral destroyer I'm sure the munitions would have become feasible with production scale. The ship is still valuable as a technology demonstrator.

[@TheCool_Guy23]

This! It seems to me that we used to be able to pump out dozens of ships, and modernize our military quickly and easily, yet these days it takes decades to build one ship or new fighter jet, and by the time it's finished it's already obsolete, overpriced, or just plain useless

[@haydnw869]

I find it very interesting the modern and especially next gen navy ships are gonna turn out almost exactly like the starships from Star Trek just on water. I mean they’ll have directed energy weapons (phasers) for within visual range point defence like anti missile/drone attacks etc and missiles (photon torpedo) for Beyond visual range engagements Maybe throw in some stealth tech to lower radar cross-section and massive radar arrays and boom a ship scotty can be proud of.

[@user-McGiver]

and one of those ''thermal shields'' to make it look like a whale... or a... ''sea dragon'' [WTF...?] lol

[@MrLemonbaby]

Very professional, instructive and well produced vid. Thank you.

[@Sean-John]

Last summer saw it sailing past Vancouver Island the Canadian and US navy do drills over here. It was crazy and a bit scary to see because I had never even heard of it nor knew the did drills over here.😅

[@xxmrrickxx]

I wonder if we will soon get to a point where missile interceptors will be so efficient that 16 inch gun projectiles will be needed. Maybe a 16 inch version of the Excalibur GPS guided munition would look pretty good and our museum ships would be brought into service 😃

[@reesew71]

Artillery shells are big and not as fast you think they are

[@oldscratch3535]

@@reesew71 Yeah, but could you successfully divert or destroy a 16" shell traveling through the air? A little missile interceptor doesn't have the mass to move it. Most missile defense systems use kinetic kill or they explode and spread out a dense field of small shrapnel to damage the lightly built missile. You're not doing that to a 2,000lb armor piercing shell.

[@8eight306]

@@oldscratch3535 Railgun battleships wouldn't suprise me if they came around in the future. A large hull would be the only way to support the needed energy production for a rail gun.

[@jdeuraud1096]

@@oldscratch3535 “You're not doing that to a 2,000lb armor piercing shell.” If you want to read a humorous version of this read Harry Turtledove’s Worldwar series, where aliens with 21st century level tech decide to attack the earth during WW2.

[@jaybee9269]

Don’t underestimate big guns.

[@stacymcmahon453]

Oooh, perfect chance for me to be a know-it-all on ship classifications :) Destroyers are usually thought of as small fleet escort ships, and they are, but as you said, the classification is mainly about the capabilities. Destroyers are specifically equipped with a full spectrum of weapons and sensors to defend against subsurface, surface, and air-based threats. They are focused on that mission, versus something like a frigate that has lesser capability on those areas but a more flexible design that can be used for various combat and non-combat missions. The ships the USN calls cruisers today are really destroyers. Their capabilities are the same as a Burke-class DDG, but they add a second 5" gun and flag officer facilities. The DDG-1000s were originally conceived to operate supporting forces ashore in high-threat littoral zones, not as fleet escorts. In that role, it would indeed make more sense to classify them as cruisers, because they would be the center of their own strike group and probably have one or more destroyers as escort. But as you also pointed out, the mission kept changing, and ultimately was muddied to the point that they were claimed to be fleet escorts, possibly because even with their advanced stealth capabilities they were too vulnerable and too expensive to be risked close to the front lines. Down through history, many warships have become white elephants for those reasons. If the technical kinks can be ironed out, and the 6.1" guns replaced with something useful like a hypersonic missile and/or a regular 5" gun, the DDG-1000s might yet serve in their original intended role as inshore fire support and first strike in a contested environment. Sort of a surface ship version of an F-35. At which point they should be classified as cruisers due to being utilized as a capital ship.

[@Marveryn]

yeah i was thinking zumwalt was misclassifed (most likely on purpose so they get 32 of them initially) as a destroyer. that thing scream cruiser to me at least going by ww2 standards. The whole point of destroyers is protect the fleet but are easily replaced. they are the screening force that draws fire away from the big boys. zumwalt feel like instead of protecting and drawing fire. its the ship that need protection so it can deliver its heavy firepower into shore or enemy vessels. Main job being shore but am sure it can also handle ship to ship combat if call upon.

[@jesperlykkeberg7438]

"the classification is mainly about the capabilities" Yep, and from the perspective of the Royal Danish Navy the most important capability in this regard is the ship´s range. Frigates (and cruisers) are regarded as true blue-water warships with a range of more than 9000 nautical miles such as for example the Iver Huitfeldt-class frigates which today are setting the modern NATO standard for the true blue-water "frigate" classification. However, both the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, the Royal Navy´s Daring-class destroyers and the US Navy´s Ticonderoga-class cruisers all miserably fail to meet this criteria and hence do not deserve the classification "frigates" or even "cruisers". They are merely lesser valued green-water semi-coastal destroyers. Apparently the range of the Zumwalt-class is a still kept secret, so perhaps the Zumwalt is a fully modern blue-water frigate or cruiser, or maybe it´s simply a lesser-valued green-water semi-coastal destroyer like the useless Arleigh Burke-class destroyers with their inadequate range of just 6.000 nautical miles. Who knows.

[@everettputerbaugh3996]

Technically speaking, the original class name was " torpedo boat destroyer" and the purposes have grown from that original job. With the DDG-1000s running on CNG, they are less polluting than the diesel burners (and especially the remaining ships that burn bunker fuel (essentially asphalt)), but that does complicate the logistics for the fleet. And, yes, they were over built with the intent of future proofing them.

[@ErikHare]

The distinction's in Hall size and speed and armament are important between a destroyer and a cruiser. But I also think of cruisers as being the ones which can deliver more to the shore whereas destroyers are almost entirely for engaging ships. Protecting commerce is another role I can think of. Distinctions based on role seem much more useful to me.

[@MarceloWilliams-z8k]

Just watching this , what was a failed vessel and here it is a deadly weapon system give me pride and confidence in the US Navy.

[@user-ob3gi5do1i]

"it continues to fail its way to success"--that is brilliant! I'm stealing it! Great article!

[@BHShaman]

I live in one of the States where they are built and know people attached to the process. One factor is that it was way too forward thinking. Like EVs from the 1900s or the Briggs/Stratton EV from the 70s and 80s, the technology technically exist at its base form but in practical use does not wash out. Because of this they had to start downgrading some technology, which meant adding more crew or then moving back to older armaments. As technology advances the concept will probably come around.

[@MiguelDLewis]

You usually make really good videos but this is by far one of the best. Very informative but also inspirational. I love the Zumwalt's design; just from a purely aesthetic standpoint it looks cool and intimidating. Using them as the first naval vessels to hold hypersonic missiles is so fitting and just shows how failures can turn out to be successes. 🔫🗽🦅

[@tobyw9573]

NONSENSE! Navy said US has no hypersonic missiles!!! ;)

[@MiguelDLewis]

@@tobyw9573 Suuuure lol

[@bearanov]

So they replaced the guns they can't use with missles still under development.

[@ledgamer3554]

at this point thats the purpose of the ship to try new and developing tech

[@DeeEight]

Saw the title, already knew the answer. Congress got involved. The problem with a lot of programs that are initially priced based on buying a certain # of an item, so as to pay off all the R&D expenses and production expenses and the manufacturers to still turn a profit. So in this case, 32 ships was the original plan, with two 155mm advanced gun systems each, with the main intended shell being a low range guided land attack projectile (with non-guided general purpose shells supposed to be developed later), and some 750 shells being in each ship's magazine for them. That's an initial production run of some 24,000 shells and the original unit price was estimated to be $35,000 each in 2004. In fact in FY2015, 150 LRLAP shells cost just under $477,000 dollars (so about $31.800 each). However when the number of ships got cut to three hulls with six guns and about 2250 shells, the unit price tag jumped to more than $800k per shell when R&D costs were factored in, and the production contract for the LRLAP was cancelled altogether with all the money spent developing them basically wasted. The 155mm AGS, while being the same caliber of land artillery systems in NATO, used a completely different barrel and breech design, with completely different shells which aren't cross-compatible. You can't fire the LRLAP out of US Army 155mm howitzers for example, and you can't find Army 155mm shells from the US Navy guns. The Navy shells are 102kg in weight with a 24kg bursting charge and some 88 inches in total length of shell and propellant. The Army shells are in the case of the Excalibur guided M982s, about 39 inches long (without propellant) but only have a 5.6kg bursting charge and about half the range as the LRLAP. Also they never got around to developing a non-guided shell for the 155mm AGS, so with basically nothing to shoot out of them, the guns are useless and wasted development money also.

[@SabastianMoran]

November 5, 2023 - I really appreciate all of the informed comments that were made in the forum here. They definitely give more depth and context to the Cappy's video. As a student of military/naval affairs, a Vet. and American tax payer. The saga of the "Zummies" 😉breaks my heart. What a beautiful vessel class! I was in awe when I saw A-10 "Warthogs" flying some a few miles away from me. I can only imagine the awe that I would experience seeing a Zumwalt in person. 😲💖 After viewing Cappy's video I understand a little better why the DDG-1000 class vessels have had such a problematic existence. I know as an observer I get less than a basic understanding as to the things that caused the DDG-1000 program to have so many problems. However, I find myself faulting a number of ideocracies that seem to be fundamental in the design, development, and fielding of American weapons systems. Changes in political administrations and policies, conflicting tactical and strategic theories, funding, and lack of oversight. Seem to bedevil the American Military Industrial complex. One only has to look at the fiasco that is the Littoral Surface Combatant vessels are. The U.S. Navy hierarchy seems to have a very casual attitude towards the faulty decisions they have made. Knowing that there will be no repercussions for squandering tax payer money. First the Littorals, then the DDG-1000, and the continued instance of depending on huge Air Craft carriers that in a coming conflict could be huge targets. When comparing weapons systems that countries like Israel, and Russia can produce on much smaller budgets. I get the impression that the U.S. Military feel that there is an endless supply of money to fund weapons systems that may or may not do what they are designed to do over a reasonable amount of time. I know that the U.S. Congress also must share the blame for such waste.

[@tomriley5790]

Often ships are built too small for what they're later asked to do, or you get left with a ship that's out of date. I suspect that alot of the development that went into the Zumwalt project will be used in the next generation of ships, similar to the Seawolf class and the Virginia Class. The knowledge and skills from the development of these ships systems doesn't go away and with a few years for technology to generally get better and cheaper. The other pros and cons are how close your ship needs to get to the enemy - as we've found in Ukraine bringing ships close to a hostile shore is dangerous.I wonder if they could get BAe/Locheed martin to produce some dumb 155mm shells for the Zuamwalt - that fit the guns but aren't GPS guided etc.

[@goldenhate6649]

The issue isn't that the munitions are smart, ironically that's the cheap part as that tech is old as hell now. The expensive part is the production facility. Without a reasonable demand for rounds of the specialized 155, it will be roughly the same 1 million dollar cost.

[@scotnommensen9576]

I wonder (and I'm guessing I am nowhere near the first person to ask this) if it's defensive deficiencies could be enhanced with high energy weapons you covered a little while ago. All that electricity it generates could be put to good use 👍

[@cliffwoodbury5319]

One of the most beautiful machines (especially ships) ever built, and it makes me wonder what a battleship would look like with this same level of tech. I wish the navy had documents of what a potential modern battleship would look like.... I imagine it would be at least another 200 or 300 feet or so longer and maybe twice as wide.

[@amochswohntet99]

in theory these are supposed to get cover from the air support from carriers, but if hypersonics knock out their air support, they are largely on their own due to the US’s delapidated Cruisers, this is probably why they made them larger but, I don’t think it’s the right call, and is probably a splurge. The money should have been used to update the Cruisers on a new hull design. The program was rightfully axed. First they should update the cruisers, and then maybe keep this basic destroyer architecture, but make it smaller and more fitting to the role of a reconnaissance ship and submarine hunting mine detection vessel.

[@matasa7463]

It's worth noting that Naval guns can't really be shot down unlike missiles, that has counters like missile defense systems.

[@Its-Just-Zip]

The future for these ships is interesting and I think it's what they should have been built for to begin with. They are being converted or retasked into technological testing ships seemingly with the eyes on informing what actually gets put into the next generation, which I think the Navy should have just built a small amount of them. Maybe only two to begin with with this goal instead of trying to push out a completely new foundation to the fleet based on unfounded technology

[@kaasmeester5903]

That's a good way of looking at it. If they can internalize the lessons learned from building these, the investment will probably repay itself when they get around to designing the actual next gen ships, and those ships will be better for it. I've once been involved in something similar (though much smaller), where instead of building one prototype/proof of concepts, we built a few units that could actually be trained with and used operationally. You get loads of good info that way, and then you set about designing the final version.

[@beachcomberbob3496]

The best argument for 'the big gun' is they used to be (and really still should be) loaded and fired with manpower alone. Granted they have fire control systems, but they too should be hard-wired for analogue use. What happens if these new missile systems get hit by an EMP? 'Dead in the water' would be a literal term. What would they have? POM POMs and 50 cals for protection? Give me the old battleships in that scenario.

[@Ludofjn]

Iowa's should have remained active until a modern montana was brought in to replace them.

[@PracticalTacticalFedeli]

Underrated comment. So many things need to have analog back up if they’re going digital

[@voidtempering8700]

​@@PracticalTacticalFedeliAll modern military vehicles are designed with resistance to EMPs.

[@PracticalTacticalFedeli]

@@voidtempering8700 it’s not just about EMPs-analog backups work for a variety of reasons-loss of power only being one-

[@trolleriffic]

Zumwalt has a crew of 130 in total while each turret on the Iowa class needed between 85 and 110 men to operate. Naval gunnery is also much less accurate than guided missiles unless it's also using guided shells, and guns have a relatively short range (less than 24 miles for the Iowa's big guns). Meanwhile modern warships can engage targets over 1,000 miles away using missiles that carry much more explosive than even those huge 16" shells, and do it with at least an order of magnitude more precision.

[@davidjarvie9546]

I love the shape of the zumwalt it looks so modern and dangerous, 🇬🇧👍

[@djzrobzombie2813]

Like a pub in the UK now a days?😂

[@davidjarvie9546]

@@djzrobzombie2813 😁lol

[@brianparker9924]

The cruiser that you showed, CG 71, that's the USS Cape St George. She's a bad ass. She was mine. Also, you can shoot down missiles you can't shoot down shells.

[@takochiba9151]

Reduced radar cross section is less important when dealing with something really really big because even when you reduce the radar cross section of something really big it still appears kind of big.

[@duro845]

No worries it's only tax dollars

[@daiakunin]

Cappy you forgot to mention the most important thing about the zumwalt. Its first Captain was James Kirk and even though the program has cost billions, as a taxpayer I'd say it's worth every penny. Jokes aside it seems like the design was ahead of its time.

[@RyanDaMannn]

“Destroyers like the Zumwalt are in the middle of the spectrum, which is exactly what my doctors told me i am.” Lol, the quick bits of comedic relief always hit their mark.

[@KnowledgeIncarnate]

I feel like that fishing boat radar cross-section is pretty useful with the hypersonic missiles as well.

[@TonyChan-eh3nz]

It is, but it would still be cheaper if it was designed with hypersonics at the start

[@johnlongstreth1525]

Admiral "Bore-DA" ... that is how you say his name. Admiral Boorda was the 1st CNO who came up through the enlisted ranks.

[@lucasglowacki4683]

It seems that the fear of cost overruns creates more cost overruns🤔 Just make the beat damn most powerful boat with the biggest fastest missiles and guns you can!😜

[@hypothalapotamus5293]

and then get sunk by a submarine.

[@pbinnj3250]

This video is great. And the information gives us a view of what the real procurement might be like, especially the pet project of that Admiral. And even how his death “allowed” the navy to do what they really wanted. It bothers me that there can be pet projects that expensive, yet maybe it’s worked out in the past. (Do you of other pet projects that did work out?) But more important. I’m trying to figure out how you would grow into the big(ger) time. I fear a network news operation wouldn’t give you the time allotted to do this kind of thing. Cable might work. I’d love you to replace some of the speculation talking heads since they’re more like “The View” than they’re likely to admit. Your information is real news and insight, and your sense of humor is key. (Never lose it, please.) Enough a§§ kissing. I hope you and your team can make a living off of this. Brilliant stuff.

[@AllenTam]

I adopted it to the "better have it and not need it" theory. Missiles can be intercepted. How about projectiles fired from cannon or railgun? Ship need gun as much as fighters need a gun. And I thought the Zumwalt was a stealth ship and a platform for rail guns. What gives?

[@Gaehhn]

Mortar or cannon rounds can also be intercepted, but they are generally cheaper, so it might be more viable to overwhelm an air defence system using them.

[@Unpopular_0pinion]

You only think that because of the rollercoaster of trying to find a replacement armament. The ship was not originally designed to have laser weapons as its main armament. That is what is up.

[@AllenTam]

@@Unpopular_0pinion Excuse me, I'm asking about railgun. Railgun and laser are two very different things.

[@Unpopular_0pinion]

@@AllenTam the reason stays the same. The main armament has been a game of pin the tail on the donkey since the rest of the fleet being canceled made the ammunition too expensive for the gun it was designed for

[@trolleriffic]

Rounds from a gun can also be intercepted. A long range gun has to fire its rounds way into the stratosphere so they're visible on radar from a long way off which makes them easy to track and easy to work out where the ship that fired them is located. Something like a cruise missile can fly in at treetop height using terrain features, staying below radar and can be very stealthy so the enemy doesn't know they're targeted until things start blowing up. The gun round is faster, but it also only carries a small amount of explosive - just 11kg in each LRLAP round compared to the 450kg* warhead of a Tomahawk. *not all of the 450kg will be explosive but even if it has a bomb-like 50-50 weight split between case and explosive filler, that's still 20 times as much explosive as each LRLAP shell from the Zumwalt's AGS. For comparison the Navy's railgun prototype fired a 3.2kg round and the hope was that it would reach power levels and muzzle velocities high enough to give each round an initial kinetic energy equivalent to 4.8kg of C4, although that figure would be a lot lower by the time the round reached a distant target due to air resistance slowing it down.

[@WindFireAllThatKindOfThing]

And this is why being temporarily submersible (hybridized shallow-submarine design flotillas) is the best 'stealth' design. Missiles, drones, radars and small vessels confounded. Entire fleets that disappear from the surface for up to 12 hours on short notice is how you reshape how your enemies spend their detection and interdiction dollar, if at all.