to the Indian Ocean and an exercise with the Republic of Singapore Navy. The warship suffered its first mishap on 1 September when a CH-46D Sea Knight helicopter (BuNo 151918) lost power on take-off, struck the NATO Sea Sparrow missile mount, leaving the stricken helicopter hanging over the ship's starboard side. Fife's damage control teams quickly lashed the CH-46 in place and all 16 personnel were rescued without serious injury. The Sea Knight was assigned to Helicopter Combat Support Squadron 11 (HC-11) Det. 6 aboard the combat stores ship . After pulling into Singapore to crane off the damaged helicopter, the warship sailed west to Diego Garcia to receive a new Seasparrow mount. In late September, Fife steamed in the vicinity of Socotra in the Gulf of Aden to conduct surveillance operations against the Soviet Navy, a mission carried out again in the Red Sea during October. After port calls to Mombassa, Kenya, and Victoria, Seychelles, Fife sailed for home on 13 November, arriving in San Diego on 21 December. The fast pace of operations did not end upon her return. Fife immediately began a hectic series of training evolutions, department inspections, and pre-overhaul preparations. These included the exercise "Kernel Blitz" in April 1986, propulsion exams in May and June and a command inspection in August. The destroyer then entered Southwest Marine Shipyard for an extensive overhaul, commencing 29 September. During the yard work – which was interrupted in mid-February 1987 by bomb threats made by disgruntled shipyard workers – Fife received numerous mission-expanding upgrades. The AN/SQ-89 sonar suite and the new LAMPS III helicopter system extended Fife's ASW capabilities. The Mk 41 Vertical Launching System (VLS) turned Fife into a Tomahawk cruise missile strike platform. Two Phalanx Close-in Weapon System (CIWS) point defense weapons upgraded her self-defenses, and engineering plant and firefighting system modifications improved her overall war fighting capabilities. Following almost thirteen months of work, the destroyer carried out sea trials in November before returning to San Diego on 14 December. In 1988, as part of a forward deployment strategy, Fife changed homeports from San Diego to Yokosuka, Japan, arriving there on 31 August. During the first few months as the crew settled into their new home Fife made several short excursions, including an ASW operation in October and port visits to Subic Bay and Hong Kong in November and December 1988. After a period in dry dock