The deckhouse of the second Zumwalt-class guided missile destroyer has been integrated on to the ship's hull by General Dynamics' Bath Iron Works.

The operation, a milestone event in the ship's construction, took place Friday and involved the 900-ton structure being lifted by cranes and then positioned onto the future USS Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001).

"This is a major milestone for the ship and the program as the Michael Monsoor continues construction and prepares to enter the test and activation phase on the heels of DDG 1000," said Capt. Jim Downey, the Navy's DDG 1000-class program manager, Program Executive Office Ships. "As the final joining of a deck house and hull in this manner, I am proud of the work that has been accomplished with our industry partners.

"The tremendous design, planning and construction efforts that were instrumental to this program resulted in the successful lift and integration of the deckhouse resulting in a full ship. I look forward to delivering this highly capable ship to the fleet."

The Michael Monsoor will be 610 feet in length, have a beam of 80.7 feet and displace about 15,000 tons. Its deckhouse is built from composite materials and was made by Huntington Ingalls Industries. The deckhouse is 155 feet long, more than 50 feet high and will house the ship's bridge, radars, antennas and intake and exhaust systems.

The U.S. Navy says the destroyer is now about 79 percent complete and is scheduled for delivery to the service in 2017.