The U.S. Navy's Newest Aircraft Carrier Finally Got Its First Weapons Elevator

Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer is briefed by the USS Gerald R. Ford’s commanding officer, Capt. John J. Cummings, on the Upper Stage 1 advanced weapons elevator on the flight deck, January 17, 2018 US Navy/Mass Comm. Specialist 2nd Class Kiana A. Raines

Business Insider: The Navy's newest aircraft carrier got a long-missing piece of gear in December, helping solve a problem the Navy secretary has bet his job on fixing

* The Navy's newest aircraft carrier got the first of its long-missing weapons elevators in December.
* The ship has been plagued by problems with the array of new technology it carries.
* The elevators were a particular problem — one the Navy secretary bet his job on resolving.

On December 21, the Navy's first-in-class aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, which has been plagued by technical problems and cost overruns, got the first of its 11 advanced weapons elevators, "setting the tone for more positive developments in the year ahead," the Navy said this week.

That tone may be doubly important for Navy Secretary Richard Spencer, who has staked his job on the elevators— which were not installed when the carrier was delivered in May 2017, well past the original 2015 delivery goal — being ready by the end of the carrier's year-long post-shakedown assessment this summer.

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WNU Editor: The USS Gerald Ford has 11 weapons elevators, and this delivery is the first one.