Tag Archives: Ford-class carrier

Inhofe Takes Aim at Ford-Carrier Program Failures; CNO Nominee Gilday Promises Navy Will Do Better

Inhofe Takes Aim at Ford-Carrier Program Failures; CNO Nominee Gilday Promises Navy Will Do Better

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

This post has been updated to include additional information from the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing.

CAPITOL HILL – Vice Adm. Michael Gilday promised the Senate Armed Services Committee that, if he were confirmed to serve as the next chief of naval operations, he would be transparent about ongoing challenges with the first-in-class USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) and ensure that other new programs like the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine avoid the same pitfalls. Read More

Nimitz and Ford Carriers Need Upgrades to Deploy With F-35Cs

Nimitz and Ford Carriers Need Upgrades to Deploy With F-35Cs

An F-35C Lightning II assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 101 is positioned on the bow catapults of the Nimitz-Class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) March 17, 2018, in the Atlantic Ocean. US Navy photo

This post has been updated with additional information from the Navy. The service has one aircraft carrier able to deploy with F-35C Lighting II Joint Strike Fighters, USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72).

Currently, the Navy only has one aircraft carrier — either Ford-class or Nimitz-class — that can support the service’s most advanced fighters for a full deployment, service officials told USNI News on Thursday. Read More

Congress Unhappy With Ford-Class Inability to Deploy With F-35 Fighters

Congress Unhappy With Ford-Class Inability to Deploy With F-35 Fighters

The island of the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CVN-79) is landed onto the flight deck during a mast-stepping ceremony at Huntington Ingalls Industries Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Va., May 29, 2019. Navy photo.

CAPITOL HILL – The Navy’s newest aircraft carriers are being delivered without the capability to deploy with the service’s most advanced fighters, a situation lawmakers call unacceptable. Read More

Navy Building a Land-Based Test Site for Ford-Class Weapons Elevators, But Timing Won't Help CVN-78

Navy Building a Land-Based Test Site for Ford-Class Weapons Elevators, But Timing Won’t Help CVN-78

Sailors go over safety procedures for the Upper Stage 1 advanced weapons aboard USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78). US Navy Photo

The Navy is building a ground-based test site for the weapons elevators currently going through a difficult installation and certification process on carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), though it won’t be ready in time to allay the problems on Ford. Read More

USS Gerald R. Ford Weapons Elevator Certifications Will Extend Past October

USS Gerald R. Ford Weapons Elevator Certifications Will Extend Past October

The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) is maneuvered by tugboats in the James River during a turn ship evolution on March 17, 2019 Gerald R. Ford is currently undergoing its post-shakedown availability at Huntington Ingalls Industries-Newport News Shipbuilding. US Navy photo.

When USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) leaves Newport News Shipbuilding in mid-October, only some of its Advanced Weapons Elevators will be usable as the Navy continues to struggle in making the ship deployable, Navy acquisition chief James Geurts said Wednesday.

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Experts: Navy Would Spend Billions to Answer Trump’s Call to Return Carriers to Steam Catapults

Experts: Navy Would Spend Billions to Answer Trump’s Call to Return Carriers to Steam Catapults

Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Equipment) 3rd Class Darius Jarmon lubricates an electromagnetic aircraft launching system (EMALS) catapult aboard USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78). US Navy Photo.

President Donald Trump again called to install steam catapults on future aircraft carriers, in a move experts say would cost billions of dollars and reduce the capital ships’ capabilities. Read More

Navy Studying How Lasers Could Power Unmanned Vehicles

Navy Studying How Lasers Could Power Unmanned Vehicles

A microwave/electro-optic (MS32) electronics engineer at Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC), Corona Division, uses visible lasers to align various optical components on Aug. 29, 2014. US Navy Photo

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – Along with using lasers to fry an adversary’s swarming drones, a team of U.S. Navy engineers is evaluating whether directed energy can also be an effective power supply for charging autonomous unmanned surface and air vehicles. Read More

SECNAV to Trump: Ford Carrier Weapons Elevators Will be Fixed by Summer, or 'Fire Me'

SECNAV to Trump: Ford Carrier Weapons Elevators Will be Fixed by Summer, or ‘Fire Me’

Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer

This post has been updated to include additional statements from the Navy and from Sen. Jim Inhofe.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Navy Secretary has committed that the service and its industry partners will have working weapons elevators on aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) by the end of the summer – and the secretary’s job is now on the line over that issue. Read More