
The U.S. Navy’s USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), the lead ship in its new Ford-class of aircraft carriers, boasts an array of futuristic technologies designed to significantly enhance the capabilities of the naval aviation fleet.

However, the incorporation of these advanced systems has encountered challenges that have drawn both scrutiny and anticipation from military tech enthusiasts.

The USS Gerald R. Ford is the first in its class to integrate twenty-three new technologies, thereby increasing the speed of operations.

Notable among these are the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS), Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG), and Advanced Weapons Elevators (AWE).

These systems collectively contribute to a 30% faster turnover of fighter jets than the Nimitz-class carriers and are intended to counter the Anti-Access Area Denial (A2/AD) systems of adversaries.

Despite these advancements, the USS Gerald R. Ford has faced its share of growing pains.

After its first training deployment in 2022, the carrier required nearly two months of continuous maintenance to address issues that arose while at sea.

In particular, EMALS did not perform as expected, causing certification delays for several naval aviators.

In 2023, challenges with the launch and recovery system persisted, as highlighted by the Pentagon’s Director of Operational Test & Evaluation (DOT&E).

The DOT&E reported that the reliability issues affecting the catapults, arresting gear, and jet blast deflectors (JBDs) on CVN 78 were still impeding sortie generation and operational efficiency during flight operations.

Despite the Navy’s efforts to address these challenges, the USS Gerald R. Ford, as a newly commissioned warship and the inaugural vessel of a fresh class, is expected to encounter ongoing issues.

The objective, nevertheless, is to promptly resolve these issues and ensure that subsequent carriers of the Ford class are prepared for deployment without delay.

The Ford’s sister ship, the future USS John F. Kennedy (CVN-79) experiencing fewer labor hours and greater production efficiencies.

In addition, discussions are underway between the Navy and Newport News Shipbuilding regarding the joint procurement of CVN-80 and 81, marking the first two-carrier purchase since the 1980s.

The Navy has expressed interest in this proposal, citing potential savings of $2.5 billion or greater through the simultaneous acquisition of both carriers.
Relevant articles:
– The U.S. Navy’s Ford-Class Aircraft Carrier Might Be 1 Giant Headache, The National Interest
– USS Gerald R. Ford: US Navy’s largest aircraft carrier returning after extended Mediterranean deployment, cnn.com
– The US Navy’s grappling with another Ford-class supercarrier delay that could run into the next decade, Yahoo News Singapore
– Class Weapons Elevator Challenges; Decision on 2, USNI News