The USS Michael Monsoor (DDG-1001), the second of three Zumwalt-class destroyers, will be christened June 18 at the Bath Iron Works in Maine.

Looking like a carbon copy of its sister-ship, the operational USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000), the USS Michael Monsoor carries the same armament; has the same stealth capabilities; the same revolutionary power system and the same tumblehome hull that makes the Zumwalt-class stand out among other U.S. Navy ships.

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And, like the USS Zumwalt, the USS Michael Monsoor is expected to be deployed to Asia where tensions are rising as China continues to militarize islands it seized in the South China Sea. The USS Zumwalt recently passed its acceptance trials and will sail to Baltimore for its commissioning in October.

The USS Zumwalt will then head to the Pacific Ocean to complete the activation of her combat systems. The destroyer will be home-ported at Naval Base San Diego in California, principal homeport of the United States Pacific Fleet consisting of 50 ships.

The United States Pacific Fleet has command over the U.S. Navy Third Fleet defending the U.S. West Coast and the U.S. Navy Seventh Fleet assigned to Asia.

Michael Monsoor is 180 meters in length; has a beam of 24.6 meters and displaces some 15,000 tons. She can reach speeds in excess of 30 knots (56 km/h) thanks to its first-of-its-kind Integrated Propulsion System that provides 80,000 megawatts, more than enough power to fire an electronic railgun (EM railgun). She will have a crew of 150 officers and sailors.

Her main armament consists of a MK57 vertical launch system loaded with a mix of Tomahawk, Standard Missiles and Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles. She also has two 155 mm guns in the Advanced Gun System (AGS), the largest naval guns installed as standard armament in a U.S. Navy warship in decades.

But keen attention is being focused on the third Zumwalt-class destroyer, the USS Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG-1002).  This ship is scheduled to be armed with the U.S. Navy's potent EM railgun that promises to revolutionize ship-to-ship combat and shore bombardment.

The U.S. Navy's Naval Sea System Command is studying the feasibility of adding an EM railgun to the USS Lyndon B. Johnson, said Vice Adm. William Hilarides, commander of the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA).

Admiral Hilarides said studies will determine if the Zumwalt-class has the space and power to deploy an EM railgun that will replace the 155 mm gun mounted ahead of the ship's deck house.

"We have begun real studies -- as opposed to just a bunch of guys sitting around -- real engineering studies are being done to make sure it's possible," said Admiral Hilarides.

He said the USS Lyndon B. Johnson is currently being built at General Dynamics Bath Iron Works and has an expected delivery date in 2018.

The railgun to be mounted on DDG-1002 will have a range of over 160 km and will fire special hypervelocity rounds. Future rounds will be self-guided, and the first tests of this capability will take place this summer.

TagsUSS Michael Monsoor, Zumwalt-class destroyer, U.S. Navy, USS Zumwalt