No. What the Fitzgerald has is an AN/SPS-67 2D surface search radar. You get azimuth and range, that's it.
Some misconceptions on this thread about surface search radar - it isn't magic, and what you actually see on it in this situation is a spot of light that slows down relative to your ship. You don't pick up its new course right away until it's actually assumed it and been on it long enough to trend. You don't get doppler, so you have to calculate it.
A sudden maneuver such as the one presented in the track data would not be picked up right away and would probably confuse hell out of any OOD unfortunate enough to encounter it. Visual would help (if you have it). I've conned a ship in these waters and things get crazy pretty quickly when somebody on a standard course goes squirrely on you all of a sudden.
We'll know more when we get both ships' track data and their deck and comms logs. Until then, it's all speculation. But I can tell you from personal experience that conning a ship in restricted waters is not a straightforward thing.
The container ship “U-Turn” came after the collision according to analysis here:
http://www.vesselofinterest.com/2017/06/mapping-acx-crystals-collision-with-uss.html?m=1
Speculation is that the container ship was on autopilot at 2:30am and hit the Fitz and by the time the container ship senior crew got up to the bridge to disengage the autopilot about 20 minutes passed...then the container ship flips the u-turn.
A sudden maneuver such as the one presented in the track data would not be picked up right away and would probably confuse hell out of any OOD unfortunate enough to encounter it. Visual would help (if you have it). I've conned a ship in these waters and things get crazy pretty quickly when somebody on a standard course goes squirrely on you all of a sudden.
We'll know more when we get both ships' track data and their deck and comms logs. Until then, it's all speculation. But I can tell you from personal experience that conning a ship in restricted waters is not a straightforward thing.
Oh, poor widdle navy. Anything from an OKC ammonia bomb on a barge to Battlestar Gallictica can sneak up on them and blow them to smithereens.
If your concept of our naval defense is correct, we've wasted a LOT of money.
What I have had a bit of contact with is AIS. Be a bit shocked if the Fitzgerald did not have an AIS receiver on the bridge. So many small yachts that might not show up on radar do have AIS transponders for just that reason.
They work on VHF and should have shown everyone's position, except for the Fitz if they were not transmitting. Even around here in their home waters, they typically do not transmit AIS ID. But, they sure as hell should have picked up the container ship.
The AIS shows speed and course, and alarms if minimums are violated. I do not bother, only cruise ships and a few sailing vessels use it around me, but they are easy to see.