USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) on Nov. 12, 2021. USNI News Photo
The last long-delayed advanced weapons elevator aboard carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) have been delivered from shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries to the Navy, Naval Sea Systems Command said on Thursday. Read More
USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) departed Naval Station Norfolk to transit to Newport News Shipbuilding in support of her Planned Incremental Availability (PIA), a six-month period of modernization, maintenance, and repairs, Aug. 20, 2021. US Navy Photo
After three bulkhead-rattling explosions off the coast of Florida, carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) and its crew began the ship’s last repair period before a long-delayed deployment. Read More
USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) successfully completes the third and final scheduled explosive event for Full Ship Shock Trials while underway in the Atlantic Ocean on Aug. 8, 2021. US Navy Photo
The Navy’s newest aircraft carrier finished shock trial testing on Sunday after the service detonated the third and last explosive charge near the ship’s hull off the coast of Florida. Read More
USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) completes the first scheduled explosive event of Full Ship Shock Trials while underway in the Atlantic Ocean on June 18, 2021. US Navy Photo
This post has been updated with additional footage from the shock trial.
The Navy blasted its newest carrier with thousands of pounds of explosives in the Atlantic Ocean on Friday to simulate how the ship would perform in battle conditions, according to images released by the service and government earthquake monitors. Read More
The flight deck crew of USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) launches and recovers F/A-18E-F Super Hornets from Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 122 as pilots in the West Coast fleet replacement squadron conduct carrier qualifications on March 9, 2021. USNI News photo.
ABOARD AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS GERALD R. FORD, IN THE ATLANTIC OCEAN – When new commanding officer Capt. Paul Lanzilotta wakes up each morning on USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), his long and diverse to-do list highlights the balance the aircraft carrier is trying to strike as it wraps up its new-ship testing and prepares for shock trials this summer, while also carrying out other duties as the only available aircraft carrier on the East Coast. Read More
USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) Transits the Atlantic Ocean on June 4, 2020. US Navy Photo
USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) returned to port Sunday after its latest at-sea testing period with mixed results. While the carrier operated with the most complex air wing to date, the ship’s Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) suffered a failure that prevented the carrier from launching planes for five days, the Navy announced in a Sunday statement. Read More
USS Gerald R. Ford’s (CVN-78) flight deck May 30, 2020. US Navy Photo
If the Navy has spent the last three years taking USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) from a construction project to a platform that can launch and recover jets, the service is now taking steps to turn the ship into one that can fight in maritime combat. Read More
The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) transits the Atlantic Ocean, May 13, 2020. Gerald R. Ford is underway in the Atlantic Ocean conducting carrier qualifications. US Navy photo.
Maintenance teams working on aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) are accomplishing about 30 percent more work than planned during in-ports periods between underway testing, helping to reduce the amount of time the carrier will likely spend in the repair yard after full-ship shock trials next year and becoming a fully available fleet asset. Read More
Chief Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Handling) Derrick Williams, from Charlotte, North Carolina, USS Gerald R. Ford’s (CVN 78) flight deck leading chief petty officer, goes over flight deck operations inside Ford’s flight deck control, prior to flight operations in the Atlantic Ocean, March 23, 2020. US Navy photo.
New aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) completed its Flight Deck Certification (FDC) and Carrier Air Traffic Control Center (CATCC) Certification on March 20, following two days of intense flight deck operations to prove the ship and crew’s capabilities. Read More
F/A-18F Pilot LCDR Jamie R. Struck the makes first carrier arrested landing using AAG system aboard USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) off the Virginia coast. US Navy Photo
A previous version of this post misstated the Navy’s reliability requirement for the Advanced Arresting Gear. The requirement is 16,500 recoveries before an operational failure.
ABOARD AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS GERALD R. FORD – The crew of USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) are slowly expanding the aircraft they can launch and recover from the next-generation aircraft carrier, Ford’s air boss told USNI News last week. Read More
