USS Kinkaid

SAN DIEGO (CNN) -- With the safety of a nation at stake, the U.S. Navy has launched a series of tests to ensure it can still go to war in the next millennium.

The Year 2000 bug, widely known as Y2K, threatens to shut down millions of computers worldwide and the Navy is determined not to become an unwitting victim.

Tests were recently conducted aboard the USS Kinkaid at the San Diego naval base where the destroyer's computer clocks were brought forward to simulate the arrival of the Year 2000.

In one of the tests, the Kinkaid simulated a battle after the arrival of the new millennium and was able to successfully launch its full arsenal of weaponry, including Harpoon and surface-to-air missiles.

"We are finding very, very minor problems that have no effect on our ability to perform our function so I am extremely confident," Navy Capt. Tim Traverso told CNN.

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The results were viewed positively by the Navy, which relies on computers for everything from navigation and weapons to communications on its 325 vessels.

"The Department of Defense has taken this seriously ... the armed forces are prepared to defend the nation when the Y2K rolls," Cmdr. Mark Woolley said.

The Navy is expected to conduct final operational tests on its combined air, sea and land-based computers in the coming months.

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