Washington, May 18 (RHC)-- The U.S. Navy is about to take ownership of Zumwalt, its largest and most technologically advanced destroyer yet.  The ship’s debut marks the introduction of a new class of warships since the Arleigh Burke slid into the Kennebec River in 1989.

With an approximate cost of $4.4 billion, the ship features a futuristic angular design, which reportedly makes it 50 times more difficult to detect on radar.  Zumwalt is powered by turbines similar to those in a Boeing 777 airplane and is equipped with new guns that are said to have a nearly 100-mile range.

Originally, the concept for the land-attack destroyer came into life more than 15 years ago, with the final design laying the ground for a stealthy shape and advanced gun system that can fire rocket-propelled projectiles.

However, the high cost forced the U.S. Navy to cut down the projected 32 ships in the program to just a fleet of three.  The project’s sluggish progress along with its rising costs drew criticism from the General Accounting Office, which complained that the Navy was trying to incorporate too many new technologies into the ship.

Some of the warship’s 143 crew members have been in training for more than two years.  The training will continue until sailors are prepared to control the ship when it will be formally commissioned into service as USS Zumwalt at a ceremony in October in Baltimore.