At approximately 6:30 a.m. on Monday morning, the USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) left the Huntington Ingalls Industries-Ingalls Shipbuilding’s Pascagoula shipyard to test the ship’s systems like damage control and propulsion. ( Courtesy of U.S. Navy photo) (Source: U.S. Navy)
By WLOX Staff | February 4, 2020 at 5:44 PM CST - Updated February 4 at 5:44 PM
PASCAGOULA, Miss. (WLOX) - A guided-missile destroyer set sail Monday morning, but its mission was not to destroy anything. Rather, this trip on the water was all about conducting at-sea tests.

At approximately 6:30 a.m. on Monday morning, the USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) left the Huntington Ingalls Industries-Ingalls Shipbuilding’s Pascagoula shipyard to test the ship’s systems like damage control and propulsion. Their main goal in performing these tests was to verify that the systems met or exceeded Navy performance specifications.

Monday’s at-sea tests come after the USS Fitzgerald was damaged in a collision off the coast of Japan. Seven sailors were lost in the 2017 collision.

Since we launched the ship this past April our efforts have focused on restoring ship systems, conducting pier-side tests and readying the ship for sea. The government and industry team has been working hand-in-hand on this exceptionally complex effort, with a common purpose of returning Fitzgerald to sea and ultimately back to the Fleet.
Rear Admiral Tom Anderson
If all tests go well, the US Fitzgerald is expected to return to Navy service later this spring.

LINK: https://www.wlox.com/2020/02/0...sea-conduct-testing/