USS Higgins Loses Power in Indo-Pacific Malfunction

A U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer lost power and propulsion for several hours after an electrical malfunction while operating in the Indo-Pacific region on April 28, 2026, according to U.S. military officials.

The Arleigh Burke-class USS Higgins, homeported in Yokosuka, Japan, and assigned to the 7th Fleet, experienced an engineering casualty in its electrical distribution system, Cmdr. Matthew Comer, a 7th Fleet spokesperson, said in a statement. Initial reports indicated the malfunction produced sparking or smoke that stopped once power was removed, he added. The crew contained the issue quickly with no injuries reported, and power and propulsion were restored. The cause remains under investigation.

The incident left the ship with about 300 sailors temporarily unable to maneuver or operate key systems such as radars and defenses, said Carl Schuster, a former U.S. Navy captain. Emergency generators provided only limited functions like communications and air conditioning during the outage, he noted.

The USS Higgins, commissioned in 1999, supports U.S. operations across the vast Indo-Pacific Command area, which spans from the U.S. West Coast to India's western border. Marine...