$10 billion has been spent on this program so far. Each ship is estimated to cost $3.2 billion.
They look cool:
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/images/ddx_dec04_frstba_1.jpg
The Navy has decided to only build two Zumwalt Class Destroyers.
FOXNews.com - Navy Scraps Plans to Build More Than Two Stealth Destroyers - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News
But it sounds like the ship can't do all that it has been promoted to do:
http://armedservices.house.gov/pdfs/SPEF073108/McCullough_Stiller_Testimony073108.pdf
And contrary to its manufacturers design specifications cannot perform area air defense; specifically, it cannot successfully employ the Standard Missile-2 (SM-2), SM-3 or SM-6.
In other words, a Zumwalt could not go anywhere without an also-very-expensive escort to defend it.
Finally a blog, that is very critical of this of the Zumwalt:
Information Dissemination: The A-12 and The Arsenal Ship
They look cool:
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/images/ddx_dec04_frstba_1.jpg
The Navy has decided to only build two Zumwalt Class Destroyers.
FOXNews.com - Navy Scraps Plans to Build More Than Two Stealth Destroyers - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News
But it sounds like the ship can't do all that it has been promoted to do:
http://armedservices.house.gov/pdfs/SPEF073108/McCullough_Stiller_Testimony073108.pdf
And contrary to its manufacturers design specifications cannot perform area air defense; specifically, it cannot successfully employ the Standard Missile-2 (SM-2), SM-3 or SM-6.
In other words, a Zumwalt could not go anywhere without an also-very-expensive escort to defend it.
Finally a blog, that is very critical of this of the Zumwalt:
Information Dissemination: The A-12 and The Arsenal Ship