The newest American aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) has finally entered its first operational voyage. On October 4, the ship left Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, and set out for the Atlantic Ocean. The US Navy plans that the ship will conduct a series of exercises with both US forces and allied countries across the Atlantic, from Spain to Norway.
Ford – the lead ship of the new carrier type to replace the Nimitz – faced numerous technical problems that made this memorable moment much later than expected. The aircraft carrier was launched almost exactly nine years ago – on October 11, 2013 – but it was officially commissioned into service on July 22, 2017. To maintain the sad trend of delays, Ford’s departure to sea also had to be postponed, but fortunately only by two days and not for technical reasons, but because of the stormy weather caused by Hurricane Ian.
In the nine years since its launch, Ford has undergone various tests at shipyards, at a naval port and, of course, at sea. The most effective were the tests of resistance to explosions in the period from June to August last year. The ship passed the test with flying colors. But of course the structural strength of the hull was never in doubt. Whatever, but in Newport News Shipbuilding they can build solid ships.
The problems mainly concerned technical innovations distinguishing the new generation of aircraft carriers from the previous one, especially the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) and Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) systems, i.e. catapults and brake lines, respectively. EMALS and AAG were to be simpler and more efficient systems than classic solutions, but for many years they caused problems, and even President Donald Trump spoke about them critically and with his “charm”. EMALS uses electromagnetic energy to take off, instead of steam pistons. Also in the AAR, the brake lines are connected to an electromagnetic system, not a hydraulic system.
T-45C Goshawk in preparation for take-off from Ford.
(US Navy / Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Zack Guth)
Despite technical problems, both systems worked (during one phase of testing the Super Hornets took off from Ford more than eighty times a day) and quickly gained the sympathy of the sailors. The Nimitzes below deck are dripping with grease, hydraulic, mechanical and pneumatic equipment, replaced on the Ford with clean, well-ventilated electrical modules. In February 2020, the carrier completed sea trials, the purpose of which was to check the compatibility of EMALS and AAG with F / A-18E / F Super Hornet, E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, C-2A Greyhound, EA-18G Growler and T-45 Goshawk aircraft.
Attentive Readers will notice that the above list does not include the F-35C. Indeed, Ford has not yet been integrated with this machine, and most likely it will only happen after 2025. Thus, it can be assumed that the first Ford ship to take on board the F-35C will be the USS John F. Kennedy (CVN 79). His entry into service is scheduled for 2024.
The ship had to overcome other problems as well. Especially stubborn were the lifts for Advanced Weapons Elevator weapons. They have a lifting capacity increased from over 4.7 tons to nearly 10.9 tons, and thanks to the use of linear motors, similar to electromagnetic railways, they also develop a vertical speed that is half as high – 45 meters per minute. The Ford was equipped with a total of eleven weapon lifts. Seven are to carry bombs and missiles from the warehouses to the hangar deck, and three – from the hangar deck to the airport deck. The eleventh elevator is to be universal. Depending on the needs, it will transport armaments and supply pallets between decks, and in an emergency – evacuate injured sailors from the starting deck.
USS Gerald R. Ford in March this year during the qualification exercises of the aviation component.
(US Navy / Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jackson Adkins)
In addition, minor faults in radar stations, electricity generators and the propulsion system had to be resolved (faulty components caused one of the main gears that transmit power to the propellers to overheat). In 2019, it was announced that Ford would not be ready to go on a combat cruise until 2024.
The Ford models were also modified to reflect the ongoing changes in society. Compared to the Nimitzes, women will be a much larger part of the crew. The CVN 78 is the US Navy’s first urinal-free aircraft. All units of this type are to be gender neutral – all living quarters can be used regardless of the gender of the staff, which is to be a convenience for the command in changing personnel realities and provide greater comfort to seafarers.
The original assumption was that Ford’s first operational voyage would be of a relatively small scale. Even a special name was coined: service-retained deployment, which could be translated as: an operational cruise under the responsibility of the armed forces. This long term was intended to keep the Ford under the command of the 2nd Fleet (which would be normal in the circumstances) and to keep him at the disposal of the head of naval operations, the commander-in-chief of the Navy.
One of the Full Ship Shock Trials to verify the ship’s ability to withstand tremors and operate in combat conditions.
(US Navy / Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Novalee Manzella)
Such an ambiguous approach to the first operational cruises of new generation ships was also observed recently in the case of the “destroyer” USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000). Even though it has recently embarked on a voyage that in all possible respects deserves to be called an operational voyage, the US Navy has decided not to use the term deployment as the voyage “is part of the fleet integration process of bringing this type of ship into the operational environment.” In the case of Ford, the US Navy uses the word deployment, but emphasizes that we will not see a full-blown, global operational cruise only next year.
In the first operational voyage, the Ford aircraft carrier strike group will also include the cruiser USS Normandy (CG 60) of the Ticonderoga type, the destroyers USS Ramage (DDG 61), USS McFaul (DDG 74) and USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116), the tanker USNS Joshua Humpreys (T‑ AO 188) of the Henry J. Kaiser class and the USNS Robert E. Peary (T ‑ AKE 5) supply ship of the Lewis and Clark class, and the USCGC Hamilton (WMSL 753) coastguard boat of the Legend class.
Ultimately, the US Navy wants ten Ford aircraft carriers in service. In addition to the lead unit and Kennedy launched in 2019, three more were approved for construction: USS Enterprise (CVN 80), USS Doris Miller (CVN 81) and the as yet unnamed CVN 82. The total cost of Ford was $ 13.2 billion, which exceeded the cost estimate by nearly 3 billion. It is already known that the next ships will also be more expensive than planned.
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US Navy / Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jackson Adkins
