The USS Zumwalt, a destroyer. Courtesy General Dynamics Photo/US Navy
The Navy's Newest Destroyer Is A Drone -- Bloomberg Businessweek
When the U.S. Navy christens the first of its newest class of destroyers this month, it will launch the first ship with a brain of its own.
Among the high-tech features included on the USS Zumwalt—cannons that fire rocket-propelled, GPS-guided rounds and stealth design that gives the 610-foot ship the radar signature of a small fishing vessel—there’s also a computer intelligence capable of preparing the ship for battle and engaging enemy targets on its own. Think of it as a gigantic floating drone: “Most UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] are a few million dollars,” says Wade Knudson, who heads the Zumwalt project for Raytheon (RTN), which made most of the ship’s computer systems. “This is a $5 billion UAV.”
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My Comment: At $5 billion a pop .... that is one hell of an expensive drone.
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