The Zumwalt-class destroyer USS Michael Monsoor has been forced to return to the shipyard after one of its Rolls-Royce MT30 marine gas turbine engines suffered irreparable damage during acceptance trials, Rear Adm. William Galinis said in an interview with United States Naval Institute (USNI) News. Now the engine is in need of replacement.
"Regrettably, coming off her acceptance trials we found a problem with one of the main turbine engines that drives one of the main generators. We're having to change it out," Rear Adm. William Galinis said.
According to NavalTechnology.com, the engines cost approximately $20 million each.
This is not the only malfunction that USS Michael Monsoor has incurred during its short time in operation. The warship suffered problems with its electrical system during tests in December 2017 and was forced to return to the shipyard on that occasion too.
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The stealthy Zumwalt-class guided missile destroyer project has faced a number of setbacks, including its reliance on highly expensive ammunition. The Long Range Land Attack Projectile (LRLAP) rounds that the Zumwalt-class destroyers were originally designed to use cost a mere $50,000 each, according to preliminary estimates in 2001. But the price for each round of ordnance grew to $800,000 by 2016. With the impressive rate of fire of the ship's guns, a single Zumwalt destroyer was able to spend 1/600 of the US Department of Defense's entire operating budget in the course of just one hour.
