With plans in place for other Navy ships, the final Zumwalt destroyer leaves BIW

Courtesy / Bath Iron Works The Lyndon B. Johnson, the third and final Zumwalt destroyer, sailed away from Bath Iron Works.

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By Jessica Hall

The third and final ship in the Zumwalt class of destroyers, the Lyndon B. Johnson, sailed away from Bath Iron Works, allowing the shipyard to now focus on a different class of destroyers.

The stealth destroyer, DDG 1002, is on its way to the Huntington Ingalls Industries in Mississippi to have its combat systems installed.

In November, the Navy formally accepted completion of production and test activity from BIW for the destroyer. The Navy’s acceptance of hull, mechanical and electrical completion followed extensive tests, trials and demonstrations of the ship’s systems both at the pier and during sea trials last summer.

“The sail away of the third and final Zumwalt-class destroyer marks an important milestone,” said Dirk Lesko, president of Bath Iron Works. “The completion of our work on the most sophisticated surface combatant ever built is the culmination of more than two decades of dedicated effort by thousands of employees.”

BIW laid the keel for the 610-foot-long guided missile warship in 2017, and it was christened in 2019. After it is fully tested, commissioned and outfitted, DDG 1002 will operate out of San Diego as home port.

The Department of Defense originally planned 32 of the high-tech ships when they were planned almost 20 years ago. But over the years, budget constraints and changes in naval strategy reduced the number to three.

Lesko said BIW will now fully focus on DDG 51s, the Navy’s slightly smaller Arleigh Burke-class destroyers that have been a staple of BIW’s shipbuilding since the 1980s.

In addition to the two previously delivered Zumwalt-class destroyers, there are currently 37 Bath-built Arleigh Burke-class destroyers serving in the U.S. fleet.

Bath Iron Works, owned by General Dynamics, (NYSE: GD), currently has under construction the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers Carl M. Levin (DDG 120), John Basilone (DDG 122), Harvey C. Barnum Jr. (DDG 124) and Patrick Gallagher (DDG 127) as well as the Flight III configuration destroyers Louis H. Wilson Jr. (DDG 126), William Charette (DDG 130) and Quentin Walsh (DDG 132).

BIW, which employs about 7,400 workers, is one of Maine's largest employers.