Q&A ยท 2:49:40-2:51:32

What dismantled tooling means for a Zumwalt restart

The claimed loss of construction jigs raises a question about how much advantage a Zumwalt derivative would retain.

Question

Could a modified Zumwalt replace the Flight III Burke if production restarted?

Short answer

A derivative is considered viable, but the claimed loss of construction jigs would reduce the benefit of reusing the design; no detailed restart estimate is provided.

Notes

A modified Zumwalt is accepted as a possible basis for replacing Flight III Burkes. Dr. Clarke's objection to restarting production is his account that the construction jigs had been dismantled. Rebuilding that tooling would consume part of the saving expected from reusing the design. The exchange also returns to the risks of attaching too many immature weapons projects to one hull. It supplies no itemized restart estimate, and the participants are uncertain about the dates of the relevant decisions.