The U.S. Navy will commission its second Zumwalt class destroyer on Saturday, January 26. The commissioning ceremony for the future USS Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001) will be held at Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, California, where the ship will be homeported.
The ship is named in honor of Medal of Honor recipient Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class (SEAL) Michael A. Monsoor, who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions in Ramadi, Iraq, Sept. 29, 2006.
The lead ship of the class, USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000), was commissioned in September 2016. The third ship, the future USS Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG 1002), was launched December 9 at General Dynamics-Bath Iron Works shipyard. That ship is scheduled to be christened in spring 2019.
The Zumwalt class was once envisioned as the future of the Navy’s destroyer fleet, with 32 ships planned. The program was eventually scaled down to three ships due to extremely high development costs. At that point, the Navy restarted the DDG 51 production line, and the service continues to buy new Arleigh Burke class destroyers.
Shaun's deep-rooted interest in military equipment continues in his role as a senior defense analyst with a focus on the United States. He played an integral role in the development of Forecast International's U.S. Defense Budget Forecast, an interactive online product that tracks Pentagon acquisition programs throughout the congressional budget process. As editor of International Military Markets – North America, Shaun has cultivated a deep understanding of the vast defense markets in the United States and Canada. He is a regular contributor to Forecast International's Defense & Security Monitor blog and has co-authored white papers on global defense spending and various military programs.
