The DDG 1000

PORTSMOUTH, R.I.--When someone says that a new Naval vessel will be "the centerpiece of seapower for the next 50 years," it's tempting to be skeptical. But with the U.S. Navy's next-generation Zumwalt-class destroyer, known as DDG 1000, it's worth keeping an open mind.

With the Zumwalt, the Navy is aiming for a much larger, much more efficient, much quieter and hard-to-detect destroyer geared toward the water-borne battlefields of the future.

As part of Road Trip 2010, CNET reporter Daniel Terdiman visited defense giant Raytheon's Integrated Defense Systems facility here for a lengthy discussion of the DDG 1000 and the ways it is expected to break new ground in naval warfare.

Seen here is a rendering of the Zumwalt class destroyer, the design of which is being led by Raytheon, but which also features work by partners at BAE Systems, General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, Northop Grumman, and of course, the Navy.

The ship is being built at the Bath Iron Works, in Bath, Maine.

Click here to read the related story on the U.S. Navy's next-generation destroyer, the DDG 1000, and click here to check out the entire Road Trip 2010 package.

August 4, 2010 4:00 AM PDT

Photo by: Raytheon

| Caption by: Daniel Terdiman