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Largest Destroyer Built For Navy Headed To Sea For Testing (ap.org)
An anonymous reader writes: The first Zumwalt-class destroyer, the USS Zumwalt, the largest ever built for the U.S. Navy, headed out to sea today. Departing from shipbuilder Bath Iron Works, the ship left to undergo sea trials. The AP reports: "The ship has electric propulsion, new radar and sonar, powerful missiles and guns, and a stealthy design to reduce its radar signature. Advanced automation will allow the warship to operate with a much smaller crew size than current destroyers. All of that innovation has led to construction delays and a growing price tag. The Zumwalt, the first of three ships in the class, will cost at least $4.4 billion."
taxpayer's money is going to be endlessly squandered on weapon systems we will never use. The entire NIH budget is something like $35 billion
The NIH is but a minor agency of the DHHS whose entire budget is something like $1.2T so if you think they need even more you're complaining the wrong way. Meanwhile at least the government got a ship for its $4.4B in this case. Compared to the almost $20B pissed away in Medicare fraud that was detected last year, never mind how much went unnoticed.