Monday, March 30, 2020

Acting U.S. Navy Secretary Says Sailors Aboard First-In-Class Aircraft Carrier USS Gerald R. Ford Have Not But Praise For The Ship

A tugboat directs the Ford-class aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford as it leaves the pier in Newport News, Virginia, October 25, 2019. US Navy/Mass Comm Specialist Seaman Cory J. Daut

Business Insider: US Navy's top official says its new, first-in-class carrier is improving and sailors don't want to get off

* The new, first-in-class aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford is decked out with new technology, but work on the ship has been waylaid by cost overruns and delays.
* Those issues have been a sore spot between lawmakers, the Navy, and the shipbuilder, but the last six months have seen marked progress, according to the service's top civilian official.

The US Navy's newest carrier, the first-in-class USS Gerald R. Ford, finished 2019 as the subject of a war of words between Congress, the Navy's top civilian official, and the shipbuilder, Huntington Ingalls Industries.

In October, after criticism from lawmakers over the new carrier, then-Navy Secretary Richard Spencer said confidence in the company's senior leadership was "very, very low" and that it had "no idea" what it was doing.

The Ford has a suite of new technology, and its development has been plagued by cost overruns and delays — its delivery to the Navy in May 2017 was two years late — though work on it is progressing.

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WNU Editor:No mention about the plumbing problem .... It Costs $400,000 For Each 'Flush' To Clear The Plumbing Systems On America's Newest Aircraft Carriers (March 25, 2020).

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Being a plumber by trade I know prolonged use of acid deteriorates Plumbing pipes and fixtures. Will create longevity issues for the plumbing system.

RussInSoCal said...

In a pinch the Ford - or other carrier - could be used as a mobile hospital similar to the USNS Comfort. A carrier has an extensive hospital on board already. In NYC or other city, it could be converted quite easily to a large scale Covid Disease Center. The hanger bay could house at least 500 beds, plus a tent hospital on the flight deck. Unlimited water purification/desalination and virtually unlimited stores. Plus easy deliveries to the ship via helicopter,

/just a thought.