In the small town of Bath, Maine, tucked up along the picturesque Kennebec River, one of the most striking warships ever conceived is under construction. The design of the future USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) takes stealth to the extreme, and it’s no exaggeration to say no one has ever seen a ship like this.

Six hundred feet long on the waterline, the Zumwalt will displace nearly 16,000 tons full load when she puts to sea towards the end of 2015. All external protuberances have been recessed or subsumed into the hull or superstructure in order to minimize radar cross sections and signatures, resulting in a ship that is as streamlined as possible.

Launched last October at General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, the Zumwalt was formally christened on April 12. She’s expected to begin sea trials in late 2015.

Three ships of the class are under construction. The second, Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001), is coming together on the shipyard’s Land-Level Transfer Facility, while construction has begun on the Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG 1002).

We visited the ship on May 29, 2014, a beautiful, calm day after a long streak of dull, dark, drizzly weather. Thanks to the folks at Bath Iron Works and the US Navy’s Naval Sea Systems Command, we came back with some of the best photos yet of the new ship. Interior photography was not permitted, so, sorry, folks, no shots of the ship workers, scaffolding and construction-zone ephemera that is inside. But the exterior of the ship is getting pretty close to what she’ll look like when she goes to sea.

Both gun houses are open and the guns are raised as the Zumwalt lies alongside at Bath Iron Work’s shipyard.

The brick-colored hull of the Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001) is coming together at far left.

The ship’s tumblehome hull shape — slanting in rather than out as on most ships — is clearly visible in this bow view.

Dead-on bow view.

Catwalks are rigged along the deck edge to allow shipyard workers easier access. The blue framework projecting just aft of the “1000″ hull number will be removed before the ship goes to sea.

No anchor is visible, as it’s fitted inside on the centerline.

This straight-on broadside view emphasizes the ship’s extreme stealth features.

Closeup view of the Zumwalt’s superstructure. The deckhouse above the bridge windows is a composite-material structure, built at Gulfport, Mississippi by Ingalls Shipbuilding and barged north to be installed in Maine. A similar structure is being built for the Michael Monsoor, but the Lyndon B. Johnson will have a steel structure built at Bath.

Radars and other sensors are embedded in the superstructure. The rectangular holes are intakes for the ship’s gas turbines. The main exhaust is in the top of the structure..

Closeup view of the hull. Line handling stations, accommodation ladders, replenishment equipment and other ship handling features are located inside the ship.

Aft, the Zumwalt features a hangar and large flight deck

Aft, the Zumwalt features a hangar and large flight deck

The doors in the transom open into a large boat handling bay, featuring a boat ramp and storage able to accommodate two 11-meter rigid hull inflatable boats.

Straight-on view of the stern.