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The Ford is the most advanced aircraft carrier the US has ever built. The total cost is more than 30% higher than initial estimates. More costs are expected. The Navy accepted the Ford without some of its newest technologies operating, and the ship won't be ready for battle until 2022.

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Navy aircraft carrier Gerald Ford during shock trials
USS Gerald R. Ford during full-ship shock trials in the Atlantic Ocean on June 18.MCS Seaman Jackson Adkins/US Navy
  • The US Navy put an aircraft carrier through shock trials last summer.

  • The last carrier to do shock trials was the Gerald R. Ford.

  • The Ford is ready to deploy with the fleet according to testing and other developments.

The US Navy said on March 1 that its newest carrier, the Gerald R. Ford, had completed its first planned incremental availability, a six-month modernization and maintenance process intended to give the carrier its final touches before its first deployment.

Ford completed full-ship shock trials last summer. Three 40,000-pound explosives were detonating in the water around Ford. Since 1987, the Navy has conducted tests on a carrier.

The Ford has struggled through years of delays and cost overruns because of the array of new technology and systems installed aboard the first-in-class carrier.

The Navy said that Ford was on track for its first deployment, as well as the first deployment of the Navy's F-35C aboard another carrier.

Trials and modernization

USS Gerald R. Ford
Newport News Shipbuilding began flooding a dry dock to float USS Gerald R. Ford on October 11, 2013.US Navy

The survivability of the carrier and its systems are tested in shock trials. The Navy said that the Ford performed well and only needed 20% of the post trial repair work on the Theodore Roosevelt to be done.

"From a severity standpoint, I would like to say we had zero catastrophic failures on the ship, zero situations where we had flooding, and zero fires," Capt. Paul Lanzilotta said after the final trial.

Rear Adm said that 85% of the repairs Ford needed were done by the carrier's crew.

During the PIA period, Ford received final touches to ensure its layout and electronics were up to date.

Navy sailor aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford hash browns galley
Ford is the first aircraft carrier with conglomerate galleys, designed to make serving a crew of 4,000 more efficient than on Nimitz-class carriers.US Navy/MCS3 Brett Walker

The Navy said that the new Ford was designed with flexibility in mind and that it made modernization work more streamlined. Downey said that about 40% of the work on the carriers consisted of cutting and welding.

The 11th and final advanced weapons elevator was completed, tested, and certified, ending a long, difficult, and high-profile part of Ford's development.

The Navy said that the elevators required fewer sailors to operate and could transport more ordnance from weapons magazines to the flight deck with unparalleled speed and agility.

The elevators are one of 23 new technologies aboard Ford that improve its capabilities over the Nimitz-class carriers, allowing it to conduct faster aircraft sorties and operate with a smaller crew.

'Ready to fight'

E2-C Hawkeye lands on Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier
An E2-C Hawkeye landing on USS Gerald R. Ford on March 10.US Navy/MCS3 Zack Guth

Ford ended its PIA with sea trials off the coast of Virginia, demonstrating that the PIA was successful, enabling live interaction on the high seas with hundreds of upgraded systems and processes.

The carrier and its crew are currently at Naval Station Norfolk, where they will undergo months of training to prepare for their first deployment, which is expected to happen this fall.

The training includes system qualification tests, flight-deck certification, three phases of air-warfare training, and an operational-readiness evaluation of its combat systems. The air wing is expected to be launched by Ford in the coming months.

Ford is the future of the US Navy's carrier fleet and is expected to sail with the air wing of the future.

Navy Carlos del Toro Ford aircraft carrier elevators
Lt. Cmdr. Paul Castillo (center), Ford's ordnance handling officer, briefing Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro on Ford's advanced weapons elevators on March 10.US Navy/MCS3 Jackson Adkins

The size and makeup of that air wing is still being determined, but its centerpiece is the carrier variant of the stealth Joint Strike Fighter, the F-35C, which completed its first operational deployment in February.

Despite losing an F-35C in a failed landing during operations in the South China Sea, the deployment showed the jet's seamless integration into the air wing, the commander of Carrier Strike Group 1 told reporters in February. The F-35C carrier squadrons could get bigger in the future.

Ford is ready to deploy with the fleet more than four years after being commissioned, as the air wing and onboard systems are up to date.

The Navy Secretary said during a recent visit to the carrier that she was ready to fight.

The original article is on Business Insider.

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