ABOARD AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS GERALD R. FORD – USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) has been in and out of port for more than a year as the Navy continues to wring out the bugs from the new technologies on the next-generation carrier. While progress is steady, the program still has several milestones to achieve before it’s ready for its inaugural deployment.Ford is slated to finish its post-delivery test and trials period and certify all of its weapons elevators, which have caused delays to the ship’s schedule, before starting full-ship shock trials in May.
During a USNI News trip last week aboard Ford, crew members were optimistic about the possibilities the first-in-class carrier holds for the Navy’s future and the progress the crew has made in recent at-sea periods. But with a few more months to go in the testing stage, the crew is still working to increase the reliability of multiple new technologies aboard the ship.
The Navy hopes that the numerous changes made on Ford – meant to make the carrier more efficient and lethal compared to the Nimitz class, with less manning and a higher sortie-generation rate – will help the ship evolve for different warfighting missions throughout its service life.
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