Hopefully they can get all of the elevators working.
USS Gerald R. Ford: The Navy’s Most Powerful Aircraft Carrier Heads To ‘Shock Trials’
Coming Soon: USS Gerald R. Ford Shock Trials
The supercarrier will tie up at Newport News Shipbuilding’s pier 2 after it conducts its full ship shock trials, which is a standard test that involves setting off high explosives next to the ship to determine if vibration would cause problems. While anything that was shaken loose or damaged will be addressed, the return to port is actually part of Ford’s first “planned incremental availability” (PIA).
This maintenance period is meant to install the latest updates to equipment and to take care of maintenance work that’s harder to do while the ship is deployed at sea. The updates and upgrades are expected to be completed quickly, in part because the ship has only been undergoing at-sea tests and trials that are meant to certify the carrier’s systems as well as sailor skills.
However, just as “brand new” computers or smartphones often need to undergo software updates on a regular basis, so too will Ford’s various systems. According to Hampton Roads-based Daily Press, about sixty percent of the work slated for the PIA involves updating and modernizing equipment.
That includes plugging in updated circuit boards and installing new communications networks and software.
PIA updates will occur every few years to keep the carrier up to date with the fast-changing electronic devices, software, weapons system controls and communication networks.