WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd February, 2020) The US guided missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald has returned to sea for testing for the first time since it was damaged in a deadly 2017 collision, the Navy said in a press release on Monday.
"The ship departed Huntington Ingalls Industries-Ingalls Shipbuilding's Pascagoula shipyard at approximately 6:30 a.m. [US central daylight time] to conduct a series of demonstrations to evaluate that the ship's onboard systems meet or exceed Navy performance specifications. Among the systems that will be tested are navigation, damage control, mechanical and electrical systems, combat systems, communications, and propulsion," the release said.
Following the tests, Fitzgerald will return to the shipyard for additional crew training and certifications as final repairs are completed "in support of the ship's sail away later this spring," the release said.
"After receiving its full complement of basic and advanced phased training, as well as crew and ship certifications, the USS Fitzgerald will return to the Fleet mission-ready with the improved capability and lethality required to successfully support high-end operations," the release added.
Seven Navy sailors died during the June 17, 2017 collision of the Fitzgerald and a commercial container ship south of Japan. The accident was followed by another collision near Singapore two months later that damaged the US destroyer John S McCain and killed 10 sailors.
