US Navy's Newest $13 Billion Supercarier Plagued By Numerous Mechanical Woes

Sailors on the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford during its commissioning ceremony at Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia. US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Julio Martinez Martinez

Washington Times: Not so Top Gun: Navy's newest $13 billion supercarrier plagued by mechanical woes

The USS Gerald R. Ford is a massive, gray-hulled city on the sea. Powered by two nuclear reactors, it is longer than three football fields and displaces 100,000 tons. When the air wing is attached, the Ford provides a base for dozens of jets and helicopters and more than 4,500 sailors.

But it was conceived as far more than just another Navy aircraft carrier, and that’s where the Navy problems start.

The Ford was envisioned as a revolutionary leap forward with technological advancements undreamed of when its Nimitz-class predecessors were launched decades ago.

But the ship, the first in the Ford class of supercarriers, has been plagued with a series of mechanical problems that have pushed its price tag into the stratospheric $13 billion range. The Gerald R. Ford has been in the fleet for almost three years but has yet to deploy on a single mission.

The Ford, the first of three planned supercarriers, incorporates systems such as an advanced arresting gear and the electromagnetic launch system (EMALS), a replacement for the hydraulic catapults that have flung fighter jets off carrier decks for decades.

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WNU Editor: I understand that the USS Gerald Ford is a new class of aircraft carrier. But after years of delay, cost overruns, and systems continuously malfunctioning and/or breaking down .... enough is enough.