Oh Goody - Bath Iron Works To Build Three $5+ Billion Dollar Zumwalt Destroyers

[unhappycamper]

Bath Iron Works cutting jobs as work progresses
Associated Press / January 8, 2011

PORTLAND, Maine — Bath Iron Works notified its workforce yesterday that 130 jobs will be cut this month as the shipyard continues to shift from design to production of the first of three stealthy Zumwalt destroyers.

The announcement comes as production has been ramping up over the past year, and designers and engineers have been completing much of their work on the big warship.

“Workload peaks and valleys have always been a part of shipbuilding,’’ company president Jeff Geiger said in a notice that was e-mailed to workers. The layoffs, effective Jan. 21, are necessary to “ensure we remain affordable and poised to compete and win future contracts,’’ he added.

After the layoffs, the shipyard will have about 5,700 workers, more than a year ago because the shipyard has added 700 production workers for Zumwalt.

The shipyard, owned by General Dynamics, anticipates relative stability over the next two years, a spokesman said

[DainBramaged]

1. Yup, we need 3 more super expensive ships in the fleet needing specialized repairs when broken

Cracks plague Ticonderoga-class cruisers

Barely a year after the Navy spent $40 million to fix the cruiser Port Royal after an embarrassing grounding, the ship is again out of action, back in a shipyard at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. But this time it’s not a damaged hull that’s the problem. Rather, it’s an issue that is plaguing all 22 cruisers in service: cracks in the aluminum superstructure.

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2010/12/navy-cracks-plague-ticonderoga-class-cruisers-120910w/

[KG]

2. a simple waste.

[old mark]

3. K&R- Did they ever figure out the hull design for these? My impression is they are

unstable in heavy weather and prone to sinking in rough seas under certain conditions. There also was some indication they wer not readily defensible in some missile/air attack situations.

I thought they were only building 2 of them...Link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zumwalt_class_destroyer

FWIW, cost over active service life was estimated at over $7 billion each.


mark

[Statistical]

4. They are building 3 or at least planning to build 3. The third DDG-1002 hasn't been named.

The original plan was to build 32, then it was scaled back to 24 then 7 and now 3.

It is unlikely the project will be scaled from 3 to 2 because of certain fixed costs (R&D, design, etc). Those fixed costs will be amortized over less ships raising the price tag on the remaining ships.