September was supposed to be a triumphant month for the Zumwalt, the U.S. Navy’s high-tech new destroyer. The 600-foot-long, missile-armed stealth warship—its hull and superstructure sharply sloped to help it avoid radar-detection—was in Norfolk, Virginia, undergoing last-minute tests before its planned official commissioning on Oct. 15.
Once in service, the Zumwalt will be the Navy’s most sophisticated destroyer. But only if it actually works.
On Sept. 19, the Zumwalt suffered what the Navy calls an “engineering casualty.” In plain language, that means the $4 billion ship broke down. And it wasn’t alone. Across the world’s leading navy, new warships are breaking down at alarming rates.
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