USS Gerald R. Ford Aircraft Carrier Heading Home After 8 Months And 2 Extensions

 

Business Insider: US Navy says the Ford carrier strike group is finally heading home after its first full deployment was upended by war 

* The Navy's new aircraft carrier is returning to the US after being sent into waters near Israel. 

* The USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group was sent to stop the Israel-Hamas war from expanding. 

* The CSG's deployment was repeatedly extended. 

The US Navy is finally bringing the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group home after it was abruptly tasked to the eastern Mediterranean in response to the Israel-Hamas war and kept at sea longer than planned. 

The Ford carrier strike group was sent to the eastern Mediterranean in October during its first full deployment in an effort to "contribute to our regional deterrence and defense posture," the Navy said in a statement.  

Read more .... 

USS Gerald R. Ford Aircraft Carrier Heading Home After 8 Months And 2 Extensions  

The USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier is returning home after extended deployment defending Israel -- AP  

US Navy ending aircraft carrier's Middle East deployment -- Reuters  

USS Gerald R Ford strike group heading home to Norfolk -- Navy Times 

USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier heads home after standing guard near Israel following Oct. 7 attack -- FOX News 

US Navy’s largest aircraft carrier returning to US after extended deployment in Mediterranean -- CNN  

US sends aircraft carrier back to Virginia from Israel -- The Hill  

Carrier USS Ford Finally Heads Home After Extended Mission in East Med -- Maritime Executive  

Tweaking the ‘defense posture’: USS Gerald Ford strike group to leave the Mediterranean -- Breaking Defense  

Carrier USS Gerald R. Ford Heading Home After 8 Months, 2 Extensions -- USNI News

U.S. Navy May Extend All Its Nimitz-Class Carriers For Another Deployment

Nimitz-class carriers at sea The first-in-class USS Gerald Ford carrier operated alongside the Nimitz-class USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in October amid high tensions in the Middle East. Credit: Petty Officer 3rd Class Janae Chambers/U.S. Navy  

Aviation Week: U.S. Navy Considers Extending All Its Nimitz-Class Carriers 

The U.S. Navy’s Nimitz-class carriers are about to turn 50. But given the demand for the carrier air wing and delays to the Nimitz-class replacement—the Ford-class—the USS Nimitz (CVN 68) itself is unlikely to retire as soon as expected. 

The Navy’s fiscal 2023 budget has already called to extend the first-in-class CVN 68, commissioned in 1975, for another deployment cycle instead of decommissioning it in 2025 as previously planned. Service officials say the upcoming budget request could include a final decision on extending the next in the class, the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, beyond its 2027 projected end-of-service date—though extending just that ship likely will not be enough. 

 Read more ....  

WNU Editor: The US Navy is also looking to speed-up production of future aircraft carriers .... US Navy mulls timing of new double-carrier award amid Enterprise delay (Defense News).

US Navy Considering Extending The Life Of The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Past 2027

USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) 

USNI News: Navy Considering Extending USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Past 2027 

The Navy is weighing if it will extend the life of USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) past its planned 2027 inactivation date, USNI News has learned. 

While Ike is listed as departing the fleet just a year after USS Nimitz (CVN-68) as part the latest long-range shipbuilding plan, service officials are considering the viability of squeezing one more deployment out of the 46-year-old aircraft carrier before its planned inactivation, a defense official told USNI News. 

The largest limiting factor will be the amount of nuclear fuel left in the carrier, USNI News understands. The carriers are planned to sail in the fleet for 50-years with a mid-life refueling and overhaul. The service keeps the exact level of fuel aboard each carrier secret. 

In a statement to USNI News, the service said it considers Nimitz-class carrier life extensions on a hull-by-hull basis.  

Read more .... 

WNU Editor: It looks like global tensions with Russia and China are influencing the US Navy to change its decommissioning plans. 

This is the current US Navy plan for the USS Nimitz and USS Dwight D. Eisenhower .... US Navy to Decommission USS Nimitz in 2026, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in 2027, 2 Independence-class LCS Set for Foreign Sales, according Long-Range Shipbuilding Plan (Aviation Geek Club).

U.S. Aircraft Carrier USS George H.W. Bush Returns From 8-Month Mediterranean Deployment

The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77), along with the staff of carrier Strike Group (CSG) 10, returns to Naval Station Norfolk following an eight-month deployment, April 23, 2023. U.S. Navy Photo 

USNI News: Carrier USS George H.W. Bush Returns From 8-Month Mediterranean Deployment 

USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) pulled into its homeport in Norfolk, Va., on Sunday, marking the end of an eight month deployment to the Mediterranean Sea. 

The aircraft carrier left Norfolk on Aug. 10 for its deployment and arrived in the Mediterranean to relieve the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group at the end of August. 

Bush spent 230 days in the Mediterranean, anchoring the regional deterrence and presence missions amid Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.  

Read more ....  

Update #1: USS George HW Bush aircraft carrier rocks battle flag on return home from deployment (Task & Purpose)  

Update #2: USS George HW Bush returns to Norfolk after deployment (Navy Times) 

 WNU Editor: 8-months is a long time.

Why The US Keeps On Trying To Land Oversized Cargo Planes On Aircraft Carriers At Sea (Video)

 

WNU Editor: I learn something new everyday.

Hat tip Instapundit.

The Next Ford-Class Aircraft Carrier Will Be Delivered To The US Navy In 2025 A Year Late

In this aerial photograph, the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CVN-79) sits at Pier 3 at Newport News Shipbuilding division. The ship is approximately 76 percent complete and is progressing through final outfitting and testing. Huntington Ingalls Industries photo.  

USNI News: Ford Aircraft Carrier John F. Kennedy to Deliver a Year Later 

The next Ford-class aircraft carrier will now deliver to the Navy in 2025, one year later than the service’s most recent projection, according to Fiscal Year 2024 budget documents released this week. 

The Navy delayed future carrier John F. Kennedy’s (CVN-79) delivery date from June 2024 so the service could alter the ship’s Post Shakedown Availability (PSA) and perform more work during construction, according to the service’s Fiscal Year 2024 budget documents. 

“The Navy is implementing a strategy to pull baseline work from the Post Shakedown Availability (PSA) into the construction period in order to provide more capability at ship delivery,” the Navy’s shipbuilding budget books read.  

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WNU Editor: The Pentagon is spending the money .... Pentagon budget 2024: US Navy requests USD3.9 billion for major aircraft carrier work (Janes).

US Navy's Newest Supercarrier USS Gerald R. Ford Underway With All Its Available Airpower For The First Time

 

Business Insider: The US Navy's newest supercarrier is underway with all its available airpower for the first time 

* The Navy's newest supercarrier, USS Gerald R. Ford, is underway with all its airpower. 

* This is the first time the $13 billion ship operated with its entire air wing embarked, a Navy official told Insider. 

* The Ford is underway for a composite training unit exercise known as COMPTUEX, the official said. 

USS Gerald R. Ford — the US Navy's newest supercarrier — is operating underway with all of its available airpower for the first time. 

A Navy official confirmed to Insider reporting from Navy Times that this is the first time the entire carrier air wing has been embarked on the Ford for an underway period. The ship is underway for a composite training unit exercise known as COMPTUEX. 

This exercise "assesses a carrier strike group's abilities to conduct military operations at sea and project power ashore through joint planning and execution of challenging and realistic training scenarios," 2nd Fleet spokesperson Lt. Cmdr. Kristi Johnson told Insider. "This evaluation is planned and executed by the Carrier Strike Group 4 staff, and it tests the mission-readiness of deployable assets to perform as an integrated unit."  

Read more ....  

Update #1: Aircraft carrier Ford embarks with full air wing for first time (Navy Times)  

Update #2: VIDEO: Navy’s Newest Carrier USS Gerald R. Ford Faces Toughest Test Yet (USNI News)  

WNU Editor: The Ford Carrier Strike Group is expected to deploy on its first full-length deployment sometime later this year.

5 U.S. Aircraft Carrier Strike Groups Are Now Currently Deployed

WNU Editor: For more details on what has been deployed .... USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: Dec. 5, 2022 (USNI News).  

Update: Repairs on the aircraft carrier USS Eisenhower have been completed .... USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Wraps 15-Month Repair Period, Five U.S. Aircraft Carriers Underway (USNI News).

Design Layouts And Advanced Technologies Have Improved The Ford-class Carrier Sortie Rate

 

Naval News: New Technologies Improve Ford-class Carrier Sortie Rate  

Improved design layouts and advanced technologies onboard the US Navy’s (USN’s) new Ford-class aircraft carriers are enabling enhanced aircraft operations onboard and a higher sortie generation rate, a USN officer onboard first-in-class USS Gerald R. Ford confirmed.  

New design approaches including installing three aircraft elevators (rather than the four onboard the predecessor Nimitz-class carriers), moving the ship’s island further aft, and having the refuelling station built into the flight deck, alongside introducing new technology for example with the advanced weapons elevators (AWEs), means aircraft onboard can be re-fuelled, re-loaded, re-located, and re-launched more effectively, Commander Richard Rosenbusch, Ford’s Assistant Air Officer, told an onboard media briefing while the carrier visited Portsmouth, UK during its maiden operational deployment.

Read more .... 

WNU Editor: The USS Gerald Ford's maiden deployment has come to an end.

That wraps up Ford’s maiden deployment ⚓️ #WeAreWarship78 #IntegrityAtTheHelm pic.twitter.com/l1OMRmQRJJ

— USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) (@Warship_78) November 30, 2022

US Navy Is Stumped On Why The Water On The USS Abraham Lincoln Looks And Smells Strange

The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) sails by the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72). (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Javier Reyes)  

Business Insider: The US Navy found water that looked and smelled weird on an aircraft carrier last month, and it still has no idea why 

* The Navy discovered last month that the water on the USS Abraham Lincoln looked and smelled strange. 

* Testing found E. coli in the water, but Navy officials said it was unrelated to the odor and cloudiness. 

* Nearly a month later, the Navy still has no idea what caused issues with the ship's water. 

Nearly a month after the US Navy discovered that the water aboard one of its aircraft carriers looked and smelled strange, the service still has no idea what caused the issue. 

Sailors on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln first noticed on September 21 that the water they drink and bathe in had an "odor and cloudy appearance." 

A Navy official told Insider on Tuesday that it's "not yet known" why the potable water on the ship had characteristics beyond what would traditionally be associated with safe, clean water.  

Read more ....  

Update: Tests Found E. Coli in Carrier USS Abraham Lincoln’s Potable Water System (USNI News)  

WNU Editor: This is not the first time it has happened .... Yet another Navy aircraft carrier has a water contamination problem (Task & Purpose).

US Navy Planning To Fill Its Carriers With Drones

An MQ-25 aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush in December 2021. US Navy/MCS3 Hillary Becke  

Insider: 80 years after launching the first drone from an aircraft carrier, the US Navy is planning to fill its flattops with them 

* The US Navy is investing heavily in unmanned aircraft to operate aboard its aircraft carriers. 

* Navy officials now say that they hope to have drone aircraft compose 60% of their carrier air wings. 

* Eighty years ago, the Navy made its first crack at trying to operate drones aboard its carriers. 

The US Navy is working hard to incorporate unmanned aircraft into its aviation fleet. Service officials now say they aim for drones to compose 60% of their carrier air wings, a sizable increase from the 40% goal cited in the past. 

Leading the way on that effort is Boeing's MQ-25 Stingray, and unmanned aerial refueling drone that Navy officials say could eventually take on new roles, such as intelligence-gathering. 

The MQ-25 is expected to achieve initial operational capability by September 2025 and deploy aboard a carrier in 2026. 

It will be the first purpose-built carrier-based drone in service with any navy, but it won't be the first drone that the US Navy has operated from a flattop.  

Read more ....  

WNU Editor: The above article puts to bed any doubts that the US Navy is now committed to drones.

US Navy’s New USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Deploys For The First Time

U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Anderson W. Branch  

CNN: US Navy’s latest and most advanced aircraft carrier deploys for first time  

The US Navy’s newest and most advanced aircraft carrier left on its first deployment Tuesday from Norfolk, Virginia, designed to put the ship through its paces and exercise with allies in North America and Europe. 

The USS Gerald Ford is the first new aircraft carrier designed in “over 40 years,” according to the US Navy. 

The carrier’s construction formally began in November 2009 and it was commissioned in 2017 by former President Donald Trump, according to a US Navy release. 

The ship is the first Ford-class aircraft carrier. The Navy has begun construction on the next two Ford-class carriers, the USS Kennedy and the USS Enterprise. 

Read more ....

Update #1: Navy’s New USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Finally Deploys For The First Time (Warzone/The Drive)  

Update #2: USS Gerald R. Ford departs for its first major deployment (Naval News)  

WNU Editor: Billions over budget. Years late. Finally deployed for the first time!

USS Gerald R Ford Is Expected To Deploy For The First Time Next Week

 

Business Insider: A first-in-class US Navy supercarrier is about to set sail on its maiden deployment for the first time in over 40 years 

* The US Navy is ready to deploy a new first-in-class supercarrier for the first time in over four decades. 

* The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford will set sail on its maiden deployment next week from Hampton Roads, Virginia. 

* The Ford's first deployment comes four years after the ship was first expected to deploy. 

The $13 billion lead ship of a new class of advanced US Navy aircraft carriers is about to finally set sail on its first deployment after years of costly setbacks and delays that have at times made it the target of fierce criticism. 

The first-in-class aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, which was commissioned over five years ago and has been over a decade in the making, will deploy for the first time next week on a short, service-retained deployment, Vice Adm. Daniel Dwyer, US 2nd Fleet commander, told reporters.  

Read more ....  

WNU Editor: This is going to be a very short deployment .... Much-Delayed Carrier Won’t Go Far in Its First Deployment (Defense One). 

USS Gerald R Ford Is Expected To Deploy For The First Time Next Week 

USS Gerald R Ford expected to deploy for first time in October -- Navy Times  

Carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to Embark on Short Cruise Ahead of Full Deployment Next Year - USNI News -- USNI News  

US Navy's newest carrier to deploy, train with NATO nations -- AP  

USS Ford Shakedown Cruise Set To Shake Up The Navy, Russia And NATO -- Forbes  

USS Gerald R .Ford to go on first deployment next week after yearslong delay -- CBS  

Bigger and better: Newest Navy carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford, will deploy from Norfolk on Monday -- Virginia Pilot

Watch A Private Jet Fly An Approach To A U.S. Aircraft Carrier

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A post shared by Kevin LaRosa II (@k2_larosa)

Warzone/The Drive: I Bet You’ve Never Seen A Private Jet Fly An Approach To An Aircraft Carrier Before 

It’s not everyday you see an Embraer Phenom private jet fly an approach on a U.S. Navy carrier, but Top Gun: Maverick made it happen. 

While the plot of the box-office smashing Top-Gun: Maverick will likely be known to many readers by now, the full story of how the film was made is still unfolding. Two and a half years ago, The War Zone reported on how many of the aerial sequences that would become the movie's most impressive moments were being filmed. More recently, we discussed how Lockheed's Skunk Works brought the film’s fictitious ‘Dark Star’ aircraft to life. Now we are seeing how special, extended aerial sequences were shot, including this wonderfully bizarre footage of an Embraer Phenom private jet flying a missed approach to the U.S. Navy supercarrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71).  

Read more ....  

WNU Editor: That is something you do not see everyday.

Sailors Say USS George Washington Was Uninhabitable

 

CNN: Sailors say aircraft carrier that had multiple suicides occur among crew was uninhabitable 

Newport News, Virginia (CNN)The commanding officer stood before the sailors of the USS George Washington's security team. 

One of their own, Xavier Sandor, had taken his life a few weeks earlier in mid-April, and the captain had come down to speak with the 110 or so young men and women who worked closely with him. 

The conversation with Capt. Brent Gaut lasted two hours, according to four sailors in attendance who spoke with CNN. In it, Gaut acknowledged what the sailors had felt for months. 

He said the crew had moved back onto the aircraft carrier too soon, the sailors recalled, but it was too late to go back.  

Read more ....  

WNU Editor: The overhaul of the USS George Washington has been extended to 2023 .... Carrier USS George Washington Mid-Life Overhaul Will Extend into 2023 (USNI News).

US Navy Sailors Voice How Difficult Working Conditions Aboard The Aircraft Carrier USS George Washington Resulted In A String Of Suicides

USS George Washington (CVN 73) (U.S. Navy/MC3 Ricardo R. Guzman)  

Navy Times: Navy sailors detail difficult working conditions after string of suicides 

The USS George Washington had at least five shipmates die by suicide in the last year. 

Sailors detailed their struggles and the working conditions onboard. 

As her one-year anniversary with the Navy approached last May, Hannah Crisostomo swallowed 196 pain relievers. Her organs shut down. Her brain swelled during multiple seizures and she stopped breathing. 

 She was on life support for eight days, during which time doctors had warned her family that she may never regain normal brain functions. When Crisostomo woke up, she immediately wondered why she was still alive. Her thoughts grew more despairing during the next few weeks in the hospital and then in the Navy’s psychiatric ward. 

“If they keep me in the Navy, and they put me back in the same situation, I’m going to kill myself,” she recalled thinking, “and I’m going to be successful the next time.”  

Read more ....  

Update #1: After Three Suicides on U.S. Carrier, Crewmembers Voice Concerns (Maritime Executive)  

Update #2: Navy investigating conditions after USS George Washington deaths; Luria presses for answers (Virginia Pilot)  

Update #3: Navy opening investigation after 7 deaths on USS George Washington (The Hill)  

WNU Editor: We are now learning that there has been seven suicides, not three as originally reported .... Navy acknowledges suicides of 7 sailors assigned to the USS George Washington (CBS). 

Update #4: What is this Navy officer thinking .... Top sailor to USS George Washington crew: at least you’re not in a foxhole (Navy Times). More here .... Navy's Top Enlisted Leader Tells George Washington Crew at Least They Aren't 'Sleeping in a Foxhole Like a Marine' (Military.com).

US Navy Aircraft Carrier Carrier Carl Vinson Was Back In Fighting Condition Within 45 Minutes Of F-35C Crash

A F-35C Lightning II taxis on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022, in the Philippine Sea. (Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Leon Vonguyen/Navy)  

Insider: A US Navy aircraft carrier was ready to fight again within an hour of an F-35 fighter crashing on the flight deck 

* USS Carl Vinson was ready to launch and receive aircraft within 45 minutes of an F-35 crash-landing. 

* The crash, which injured seven, ripped out all four arresting gear wires for recovering aircraft. 

* The Navy is still in the process of working to recover the F-35 stealth jet from the South China Sea. 

Within about 45 minutes of an F-35C stealth fighter crash-landing on the flight deck and falling into the South China Sea, the US Navy aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson was back in action and ready to receive and launch aircraft, a Navy official told Defense News. 

The carrier-based variant of the US military's newest fifth-generation fighter crashed on the deck of the carrier and then slipped into the sea in late January. 

The pilot ejected safely and was recovered by a military helicopter.  

Read more ....  

Update #1: Carrier Carl Vinson was back in fighting condition within 45 minutes of F-35C crash, leaders say (Navy Times)  

Update #2: USS Carl Vinson Was Back To Flight Operations Just 45 Minutes After An F-35 Crashed Into Its Deck (Warzone/The Drive)  

WNU Editor: The scramble among hundreds of navy personnel to get the USS Carl Vinson back into fighting condition must have been quite a sight to see. This is where all the training kicks in.

Can The US Navy's New US$13B Aircraft Carrier Defend Itself?

The US navy detonates almost 20 tonnes of explosives near the USS Gerald R Ford to test whether the carrier can withstand combat conditions.  

Bloomberg: Navy's US$13B carrier sows doubt that it can defend itself 

The combat system for the Navy’s newest and costliest warship, the US$13 billion Gerald R. Ford, “has yet to demonstrate that it can effectively” defend the aircraft carrier from anti-ship missiles and other threats, according to a new assessment by the Pentagon’s testing office. 

Mixed performance by missile interceptors, radar and data dissemination systems on a testing vessel limited the ability to destroy replicas of incoming weapons even though sensor systems “satisfactorily detected, tracked and engaged the targets,” according to the report obtained by Bloomberg News in advance of its release.  

Read more ....  

WNU Editor: The problems for America's newest aircraft carrier keeps on popping up.

U.S. Navy Analyzing Future Aircraft Carrier Designs

In this Sept. 7, 2020, file photo released by the U.S. Navy, the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz transits the Arabian Sea. The Pentagon announced Thursday, Dec. 31, 2020, that the USS Nimitz, the only Navy aircraft carrier operating in the Middle East, will return home to the U.S. West Coast. (Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Elliot Schaudt/U.S. Navy via AP) 

FOX News/Warrior Maven: Navy analyzes future aircraft carrier designs 

Are carriers obsolete? 

Are they too large and vulnerable to long-range precision carrier-killer missiles to operate close enough to shore to project power? The topic is discussed so often it might seem like old news, yet ongoing questions about the future of aircraft carriers are as, if not more, relevant today than at any other time. Are carriers obsolete? Are they too large and vulnerable to long-range precision carrier-killer missiles to operate close enough to shore to project power? Will the Navy architect a new generation of differently configured carriers? Perhaps smaller, faster and more agile? 

Read more .... 

WNU Editor: The US Nvay may be wondering on what should the future holds for super aircraft carriers, but they have no doubts when it comes to amphibious warships .... Navy plans to double number of amphibious assault ships by 2050 (FOX News/Warrior Maven).

The Bills For The US Navy's Newest Aircraft Carrier Are Coming In

USS John F. Kennedy (CVN-79) in drydock at Newport News Shipbuilding, Virginia (USA) (Wikipedia) 

Breaking Defense: Navy To Congress: Here’s Your F-35C Carrier — How Do We Pay For It 

The Navy awarded a big contract to modify its newest aircraft carrier -- tossing the ball back to Capitol Hill which demanded the work, but neglected to provide funding. WASHINGTON: When House and Senate members finally come together after the election to hash out the delayed 2021 budget, they’ll face a new challenge from the Navy: find hundreds of millions of dollars to wrap up work on its newest aircraft carrier. 

On Monday evening, the Navy awarded Newport News Shipbuilding a contract valued at up to $315 million for modifications to the USS John F. Kennedy so it can operate F-35C fighters. Normally, such deals would be a routine contract modification, buried amid the billions the Pentagon contracts for on any given day. 

But as with everything else surrounding these two programs, nothing is routine. The contract went out despite the fact that the Navy hasn’t figured out a way to pay for it. That’s the job of Congress, which mandated the work take place back in 2020 budget, but didn’t provide any money to make it happen.

Read more .... 

WNU Editor: Here is an easy prediction. A Biden administration will not support spending this type of money.