Washington, April 26 (RHC)-- The U.S. Navy has spent over $3 billion on a new stealth destroyer that uses hydrogen and carbon-dioxide harvested from ocean water as fuel. 
 
The destroyer, which is the first of three to be built, is meant to start a new era of fuel independence for the U.S. Navy fleet, according to reports from Washington.
 
The Navy claims the vessel is 610-feet long, 80-feet wide, and weighs 15,000 tons and requires half the crew currently used on destroyers.  It reportedly will be armed with a drone-targeting laser and can also carry a number of helicopters on board, in addition to several aerial drones.
 
Among the warship's other features are a composite deckhouse with hidden radar and sensors and an angular shape that officials say will allow it to be mistaken for a small fishing boat on radars.
 
This is the first U.S. ship to use electric propulsion and produces enough power to one day support the future electromagnetic rail gun, which will be tested at sea in 2016.  The destroyer is named after Admiral Elmo "Bud" Zumwalt and was christened on April 12th.