The U.S. Navy’s most expensive destroyer ever left San Diego on Friday for its first “operational underway”, according to Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Natalie M. Byers.

According to a statement released by the U.S. Navy, the Guided-missile destroyer USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000), costing upward of $4.4 billion, departed San Diego as part of an operational underway on 8 March.

“The milestone demonstrates the U.S. Navy’s commitment to advancing the lethality of its surface combatants by integrating cutting-edge technologies in Zumwalt’s combat systems, weapons, and engineering plants,” said in a statement.

Zumwalt-class destroyers are the most lethal and sophisticated destroyers ever built. They provide deterrence and forward presence by bridging today’s innovation with future technology.

DDG 1000 has a ‘tumblehome’ hull form, a design in which hull slopes inward from above the waterline. This significantly reduces the radar cross section since such a slope returns a much less defined radar image rather than a more hard-angled hull form.

The design also allows for optimal manning with a standard crew size of 175 sailors, with an air detachment of 28 thereby decreasing lifecycle operations and support costs.

Zumwalt-class destroyers maximize stealth, size, power and computing capacity –fielding an array of weapons systems and cutting-edge technologies to fight forces in the air, on and under the sea, and on land.

Each ship features a battery of two Advanced Gun Systems (AGS) firing Long-Range Land Attack Projectiles (LRLAP) that reach up to 63 nautical miles, providing a three-fold range improvement in naval surface fires coverage.