The guided-missile destroyer, assigned to the 7th Fleet and homeported in Yokosuka, Japan, suffered the blaze earlier this week in the Indo-Pacific, with no injuries reported by Wednesday.
US officials said the cause, exact location, damaged sections and repair timeline were not immediately available, while Pentagon spokespeople referred questions on the extent of damage to Indo-Pacific Command.
Higgins is a key part of the Navy's forward presence in Asia; the incident follows separate recent fires on the carriers USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and USS Gerald R. Ford that injured sailors.
What hidden vulnerabilities in advanced naval systems are making modern warships like the USS Higgins increasingly susceptible to crippling fires?
With repeated shipboard fires and maintenance backlogs, how prepared is the U.S. Navy to respond to a crisis in the Indo-Pacific?