F/A-18E Super Hornet lands with the Advanced Arresting Gear at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, in Lakehurst, New Jersey, on March 31, 2016. US Navy Photo
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – The Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) test schedule for aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) was pushed back again, but the delay may cause little impact thanks to a slew of post-delivery test requirements for the first-in-class ship, the CVN-78 class program manager told USNI News. Read More
Sailors man the phone and distance line aboard the Arleigh Burke-Class guided-missile destroyer USS Mitscher (DDG-57) on Nov. 7, 2014. US Navy Photo
This is the final version of this post.
PENTAGON — The Department of the Navy’s Fiscal Year 2017 lower-than-expected budget submission follows closely with an overall Department of Defense drive to build higher end warfighting capabilities — but at a cost, according to budget documents released on Tuesday. Read More
The following is the Dec. 17, 2015 Congressional Research Service report, Navy Ford (CVN-78) Class Aircraft Carrier Program: Background and Issues for Congress. Read More
The aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) at ship launch in November 2013. US Navy photo.
The Ford-class aircraft carrier program offers several lessons on how to build a new ship class while designing the combat system as late as possible to incorporate new technologies, the CVN-78 program manager said at the American Society of Naval Engineers’ annual Combat Systems Symposium. Read More
The following is the Nov. 5, 2015 Congressional Research Service report, Navy Ford (CVN-78) Class Aircraft Carrier Program: Background and Issues for Congress. Read More
The following is the written testimony of Paul L. Francis of the Government Accountability Office to the Senate Armed Services Committee’s (SASC) for the Oct. 1, 2015 hearing on the Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier (CVN-78) program. Read More
The U.S. Navy is struggling with an undersized fleet, and is being pushed to its breaking point. The facts are clear. The carrier force is below the mandate required by law. Our ships are going on deployments of ever increasing lengths, all longer than planned—as long as 10 months. Because of backlogs of ship maintenance, unplanned repairs are popping up with increasing frequency stretching out the ships’ repair periods. Training periods are now being cut by three-fourths of their planned time. Read More
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (Nov. 17, 2013) Pre-Commissioning Unit Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) transits the James River during the ships launch and transit to Newport News Shipyard pier three for the final stages of construction and testing. The Ford was christened Nov. 9, 2013, and is currently under construction at Huntington Ingalls Industries Newport News Shipyard (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Second Class Aidan P. Campbell/Released)
The Navy’s newest aircraft carrier may see a two-year delay in its maiden deployment, after Pentagon officials announced last month it would be put through shock trials before being allowed overseas. Read More
The following is the June 12, 2015 Congressional Research Service report, Navy Ford (CVN-78) Class Aircraft Carrier Program: Background and Issues for Congress. Read More
Dead load launched from Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) during EMALS testing. HII Photo
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The Navy’s Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) encountered problems Tuesday morning prior to a round of testing in front of media, but Navy and industry officials say the problem is minor and part of the testing process. Read More
