The U.S. navy’s largest destroyer ever built, sets sail to sea for the first time Monday. The USS Zumwalt carefully navigates from shipbuilder Bath Iron Works in Maine then passes Kennebec River before reaching the open ocean to undergo sea trials.

A Bath Iron Works employee, Kelley Campana, said she had goosebumps and tears in her eyes.

‘This is pretty exciting. It’s a great day to be a shipbuilder and to be an American,’ she said.

‘It’s the first in its class. There’s never been anything like it. It looks like the future.’

First-in-class USS Zumwalt is the largest U.S. Navy destroyer ever built and took four years to complete, is now being tested. Source: US Navy
First-in-class USS Zumwalt is the largest U.S. Navy destroyer ever built and took four years to complete, is now being tested. Source: US Navy

Larry Harris, a retired employee of the ship says ‘It’s as cool as can be. It’s nice to see it underway,’ he said. ‘Hopefully, it will perform as advertised.’

The USS Zumwalt features. Source: US Navy
The USS Zumwalt features. Source: US Navy

Bath Iron Works will test the ship’s performance and then make tweaks this winter.

The USS Zumwalt has electric propulsion, radar and sonar, powerful missile and guns, and a stealthy design.

A model of the Zumwalt Class destroyer built by Bath Iron Works. Source: US Navy
A model of the Zumwalt Class destroyer built by Bath Iron Works. Source: US Navy

The ship’s crew will be much smaller, thanks to its advance automation features that will allow the warship to operate with less crew.

The Zumwalt cost at least $4.4 billion. The ship’s design looks like no other U.S. warship, with a clean carbon fiber superstructure, it hides antennas and radar masts.

Originally envisioned as a ‘stealth destroyer,’ the Zumwalt has a low-slung appearance and angles that deflect radar. Its wave-piercing hull was designed for a smoother ride.

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