USS Zumwalt departs for its first sea trials

The USS Zumwalt concluded years of full rate production as it departed to begin its first sea trials on Monday.

Zumwalt is the largest destroyer ever built for the U.S. Navy, while also being the first all-electric warship. The ship is 610 feet long, and weighs about 15,000 tons. WCSH6 reports the total cost of the ship's production came to about $4.3 billion.

"I think we've all worked really hard and this is a huge reward," said Bath Iron Works procurement department employee Debrah Beane as she waited for the ship to sail through the river. "It makes you proud to be an American."

Production on the stealth destroyer began at Bath Iron Works, a subsidiary of General Dynamics in 2009. Zumwalt is the first of three planned Zumwalt-class destroyers to be built, which distinguishes itself from other destroyers with its smooth angles and pyramid-shaped 1,000-ton deckhouse designed to make the ship harder to pick up on radar.

The planned sea trials will demonstrate Zumwalt's hull, mechanical and electrical systems, according to the Portland Press Herald. Following the trials, the ship will head back to Bath, where Bath Iron Works employees and other Navy contractors will continue working on the ship.