BATH, Maine (AP) — The future USS Zumwalt is so stealthy that the Navy tested reflective material to make it visible to mariners during recent sea trials.
So far, the largest destroyer ever built for the Navy is living up to its billing.
Capt. James Downey, program manager, said the ship is 50 times harder to spot on radar than the current destroyers. And fishermen agree that the radar signature is much smaller than would be expected for a 600-foot ship.
Lobsterman Lawrence Pye tells The Associated Press that the angular destroyer looks more like a 40- to 50-foot fishing boat on his radar.
Downey says the reflective material can be used to increase the radar signature in peacetime in areas of high marine traffic.