The U.S. Navy’s Largest Destroyer Ever Heads out to Sea for Testing

The first Zumwalt-class destroyer, the USS Zumwalt , the largest ever built for the U.S. Navy, leaves the Kennebec River, Monday, Dec. 7, 2015, in Phippsburg, Maine. The futuristic ship is headed out to sea for the first time to undergo sea trials.AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty

BATH, Maine—The largest destroyer ever built for the U.S. Navy headed out to sea for the first time Monday, departing from shipbuilder Bath Iron Works and carefully navigating the winding Kennebec River before reaching the open ocean where the ship will undergo sea trials.

More than 200 shipbuilders, sailors and residents gathered to watch as the futuristic 600-foot (183-meter), 15,000-ton (13,600-metric ton) USS Zumwalt glided past Fort Popham, accompanied by tugboats.

Kelley Campana, a Bath Iron Works employee, said she had goose bumps 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.”

The first Zumwalt-class destroyer, the largest ever built for the U.S. Navy, heads down the Kennebec River after leaving Bath Iron Works, Monday, Dec. 7, 2015, in Bath, Maine. AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty