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An Invisible Ship's Obvious Problems: High-Tech US Stealth Destroyer Breaks Down

© AP Photo / Robert F. BukatyThe future USS Zumwalt heads down the Kennebec River after leaving Bath Iron Works Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2016, in Bath, Maine
The future USS Zumwalt heads down the Kennebec River after leaving Bath Iron Works Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2016, in Bath, Maine - Sputnik International
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Less than a month ahead of its commissioning, the Pentagon’s latest-generation warship, the Zumwalt, broke down during sea trials, according to the website USNI News.

Artistic Rendering of the USS Zumwalt class destroyer DDG 1000 - Sputnik International
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It will take at least ten days to repair the US stealth robotic destroyer Zumwalt, which broke down while undergoing sea trials, less than a month before it is slated to be commissioned on October 15, the website USNI News reported.

The website quoted a US Naval Surface Forces statement which explained that "the crew discovered the casualty after detecting a seawater leak in the propulsion motor drive lube oil auxiliary system for one of the ship's shafts."

"The built-in redundancy of the ship's propulsion plant allows this first-in-class ship to operate with multiple engine configurations. However, it was determined that the repairs should be completed in port prior to the ship transiting to sea," the statement said.

The ship is currently being repaired at US naval station Norfolk, according to USNI News.

The 610-foot (183-meter)-long warship has an almost nonexistent radar signature due to its innovative angular design.

The Zumwalt-class cruiser - Sputnik International
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The $4.4bn vessel is armed with various missiles and torpedoes, including the Tomahawk, Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile, and Vertical Launch Anti-Submarine Rockets. All in all, the ship is outfitted with 80 missile launch tubes spread throughout the hull, and all have yet to be tested.

The ship not only looks smaller than other ships on radar despite its massive size, but it also makes less sound, making it nearly impossible to detect and ultimately attack, giving it the potential to compel opposition naval forces to feel that they are fighting a ghost.

However, the Russian newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta recalled in response to this that "the Russian and Chinese military radars operate at frequencies which will never let the Zumwalt destroyer remain invisible at sea."

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