Destroyer USS Fitzgerald rejoins fleet

The US Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald has departed Ingalls Shipbuilding division’s Pascagoula shipyard in Mississippi to return to its homeport in San Diego, California.

The ship is once again an operational part of the US Pacific Fleet upon having completed more than two years of repairs after it was damaged in a collision that had claimed the lives of seven of its crew on June 17, 2017.

To restore the impacted spaces to full operations and functionality, various hull, mechanical and electrical (HM&E), combat system (CS) and command, control, communications, computers and intelligence (C5I) repairs were completed. These repairs ranged from partial to complete refurbishment of impacted spaces, to replacement of equipment such as the radar and electronic warfare suite.

The ship also received HM&E, combat system, and C5I modernisation upgrades.

Due to the extent and complexity of the restoration, both repair and new construction procedures were used to accomplish the restoration and modernisation efforts. Throughout this restoration period, the US Navy made it a priority to ensure Fitzgerald returned to a peak state of warfighting readiness.

The destroyer’s crew completed multiple training and certification events, such as navigation assessment and light off assessment (LOA), to ensure the crew was at peak readiness to operate the ship as it returns to San Diego.

Upon Fitzgerald‘s arrival in San Diego, crew training and certifications will commence in support of basic phase training.