Future USS Daniel Inouye completes acceptance trials

Feb. 5 (UPI) -- The Navy's future destroyer USS Daniel Inouye completed its acceptance trials and is ready for delivery, the Naval Sea Systems Command announced on Friday.

The acceptance trials of the Navy's Board of Inspection and Survey concluded on Feb. 4, and included a series of demonstrations, at pierside and at sea, of the ship's onboard systems.

All were tested to validate performance and met or exceeded Navy specifications.

The ship is now ready for delivery to the Navy, though a date for its formal commissioning has not been released.

The ship, named for the Medal of Honor recipient and former senator from Hawaii, will be the 62nd Arleigh Burke-class destroyer of the Navy and the 37th built at General Dynamics' BathIron Works in Maine.

The vessel is a Flight IIA variant of the destroyer, the 35th to enter the Navy's fleet, and is equipped with the Aegis Baseline 9 Combat System, including Integrated Air and Missile Defense capability and enhanced Ballistic Missile Defense capabilities.

"This system delivers quick reaction time, high firepower, and increased electronic countermeasures capability against a variety of threats," a statement from the Command on Friday said.

Destroyers of the class typically carry 380 crewmembers and officers, as well as 20mm and 127mm lightweight guns, 25 mm M242 Bushmaster chain guns, and Harpoon, Tomahawk ARM-66M surface-to-air and RIM-161 anti-ballistic missiles.

The new ship can also carry two MH-80 helicopters.