Posted on Jan 13, 2017
Navy Aircraft Carrier Gerald R. Ford Could Be Delivered in April
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The Navy has made "significant progress" on the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford and the first-in-class ship could be delivered in April, a Navy spokeswoman said Wednesday.
The Navy has scheduled sea trials in March and April, said Capt. Thurraya Kent. Delivery to the Navy would take place in April, pending the results of sea trials.
The ship has faced numerous technological hurdles that have led to delays and cost overruns. Its original delivery date was September 2015.
But overall the ship is now 99 percent complete, while testing on electronics, propulsion and hull mechanical/electrical is also more than 90 percent finished, Kent said.
The ship is pier side at Newport News Shipbuilding, the only shipyard that builds nuclear-powered aircraft carriers for the Navy. The shipyard is a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries.
The $12.9 billion ship, packed with new technology, has had an on-again, off-again delivery schedule. The Navy, the shipyard and major subcontractors have worked to overcome problems with electromagnetic catapults designed to launch aircraft from the flight deck, as well as new arresting gear that would allow them to safely land.
New weapons elevators and radar systems have also caught the attention of Pentagon weapons testers.
Finally, a troublesome electrical issue surfaced in June and continued throughout the year.
In June 2016, a memo from J. Michael Gilmore, the Pentagon's director of operational test and evaluation, cited unresolved concerns about key systems.
In October, an underdog presidential candidate backed a plan to boost the Navy fleet by a whopping 30 percent. That candidate is now the incoming commander-in-chief, and it's still his plan.
The Navy has since added a significant amount of detail to President-elect
In October, an underdog presidential candidate backed a plan to boost the Navy fleet by a whopping 30 percent. That candidate is now the incoming commander-in-chief, and it's still his plan.
The Navy has since added a significant amount of detail to President-elect Donald Trump's plan for a 350-ship.
In September, the Navy backed away from a planned November delivery date and declined to predict when it would be delivered.
Then in early November, Vice Adm. Tom Moore said the Navy was making progress isolating and fixing the electrical problem, which has been blamed on a defective component. He also expressed optimism that other systems, including the advanced arresting gear, were moving forward.
At the time, Moore predicted the Navy would have a delivery date certain by the end of 2016.
@ SMSgt Minister Gerald A. Thomas Capt Christopher MuellerCOL Mikel J. BurroughsSgt Joe LaBrancheSSgt (Join to see)Capt Seid WaddellSrA Christopher Wright LTC Stephen F.PO2 Ed C. SFC(P) Hercules Lobo MSG Tom EarleyPVT James Strait Alan K. PO1 William "Chip" NagelSGT John " Mac " McConnellSSG Leo Bell SFC William Farrell LTC (Join to see) SPC Britanny *Winnie* Balthaser Maj Kim Patterson
The Navy has scheduled sea trials in March and April, said Capt. Thurraya Kent. Delivery to the Navy would take place in April, pending the results of sea trials.
The ship has faced numerous technological hurdles that have led to delays and cost overruns. Its original delivery date was September 2015.
But overall the ship is now 99 percent complete, while testing on electronics, propulsion and hull mechanical/electrical is also more than 90 percent finished, Kent said.
The ship is pier side at Newport News Shipbuilding, the only shipyard that builds nuclear-powered aircraft carriers for the Navy. The shipyard is a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries.
The $12.9 billion ship, packed with new technology, has had an on-again, off-again delivery schedule. The Navy, the shipyard and major subcontractors have worked to overcome problems with electromagnetic catapults designed to launch aircraft from the flight deck, as well as new arresting gear that would allow them to safely land.
New weapons elevators and radar systems have also caught the attention of Pentagon weapons testers.
Finally, a troublesome electrical issue surfaced in June and continued throughout the year.
In June 2016, a memo from J. Michael Gilmore, the Pentagon's director of operational test and evaluation, cited unresolved concerns about key systems.
In October, an underdog presidential candidate backed a plan to boost the Navy fleet by a whopping 30 percent. That candidate is now the incoming commander-in-chief, and it's still his plan.
The Navy has since added a significant amount of detail to President-elect
In October, an underdog presidential candidate backed a plan to boost the Navy fleet by a whopping 30 percent. That candidate is now the incoming commander-in-chief, and it's still his plan.
The Navy has since added a significant amount of detail to President-elect Donald Trump's plan for a 350-ship.
In September, the Navy backed away from a planned November delivery date and declined to predict when it would be delivered.
Then in early November, Vice Adm. Tom Moore said the Navy was making progress isolating and fixing the electrical problem, which has been blamed on a defective component. He also expressed optimism that other systems, including the advanced arresting gear, were moving forward.
At the time, Moore predicted the Navy would have a delivery date certain by the end of 2016.
@ SMSgt Minister Gerald A. Thomas Capt Christopher MuellerCOL Mikel J. BurroughsSgt Joe LaBrancheSSgt (Join to see)Capt Seid WaddellSrA Christopher Wright LTC Stephen F.PO2 Ed C. SFC(P) Hercules Lobo MSG Tom EarleyPVT James Strait Alan K. PO1 William "Chip" NagelSGT John " Mac " McConnellSSG Leo Bell SFC William Farrell LTC (Join to see) SPC Britanny *Winnie* Balthaser Maj Kim Patterson
Navy Aircraft Carrier Gerald R. Ford Could Be Delivered in April
Posted from military.com
Technology
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Posted 8 y ago
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Thanks for reminding usSP5 Mark Kuzinski that one day the US Navy Aircraft Carrier Gerald R. Ford may be delivered in April 2017 - hopefully not April fools day.
FYI Gerald Ford was President when I enlisted in November 1974.
I caught flack because my last name was Ford both because of the President and because my platoon assistant drill sergeant had a last name of Ford.
SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL TSgt Joe C. SMSgt Minister Gerald A. Thomas LTC Stephen C. Capt Seid Waddell CW5 (Join to see) SFC William Farrell SSgt (Join to see) SGT (Join to see) SGT Forrest Stewart SPC (Join to see) SrA Christopher Wright Maj William W. "Bill" Price Capt Tom Brown SSG James J. Palmer IV aka "JP4" SSgt Robert Marx SGT Robert George PO2 Ed C.
FYI Gerald Ford was President when I enlisted in November 1974.
I caught flack because my last name was Ford both because of the President and because my platoon assistant drill sergeant had a last name of Ford.
SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL TSgt Joe C. SMSgt Minister Gerald A. Thomas LTC Stephen C. Capt Seid Waddell CW5 (Join to see) SFC William Farrell SSgt (Join to see) SGT (Join to see) SGT Forrest Stewart SPC (Join to see) SrA Christopher Wright Maj William W. "Bill" Price Capt Tom Brown SSG James J. Palmer IV aka "JP4" SSgt Robert Marx SGT Robert George PO2 Ed C.
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SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL
LTC Stephen F. thanks for the mention, I get to see all the carriers getting built and every now and then, on the Chesapeake Bay.
Construction began on 11 August 2005, when Northrop Grumman held a ceremonial steel cut for a 15-ton plate that will form part of a side shell unit of the carrier.[55] Construction began on components of CVN-78 in early 2007[56] and is nearing completion. It is under the final steps of construction at Newport News Shipbuilding, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries (formerly Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding) in Newport News, Virginia. This is the only shipyard in the United States capable of building nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.
In 2005, it was estimated to cost at least $8 billion excluding the $5 billion spent on research and development (though that was not expected to be representative of the cost of future members of the class).[14] A 2009 report said that Ford would cost $14 billion including research and development, and the actual cost of the carrier itself would be $9 billion.[57] The life-cycle cost per operating day of a carrier strike group (including aircraft) was estimated at $6.5 million in 2013 published by the Center for New American Security.[58]
A total of three carriers have been authorized for construction, but if the Nimitz-class carriers and Enterprise were to be replaced on a one-for-one basis, eleven carriers would be required over the life of the program. However, the last Nimitz-class aircraft carrier is not scheduled to be decommissioned until 2058.
In a speech on 6 April 2009, then Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced that the program would shift to a five-year building program so as to place it on a "more fiscally sustainable path". Such a measure would result in ten carriers after 2040.[
Construction began on 11 August 2005, when Northrop Grumman held a ceremonial steel cut for a 15-ton plate that will form part of a side shell unit of the carrier.[55] Construction began on components of CVN-78 in early 2007[56] and is nearing completion. It is under the final steps of construction at Newport News Shipbuilding, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries (formerly Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding) in Newport News, Virginia. This is the only shipyard in the United States capable of building nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.
In 2005, it was estimated to cost at least $8 billion excluding the $5 billion spent on research and development (though that was not expected to be representative of the cost of future members of the class).[14] A 2009 report said that Ford would cost $14 billion including research and development, and the actual cost of the carrier itself would be $9 billion.[57] The life-cycle cost per operating day of a carrier strike group (including aircraft) was estimated at $6.5 million in 2013 published by the Center for New American Security.[58]
A total of three carriers have been authorized for construction, but if the Nimitz-class carriers and Enterprise were to be replaced on a one-for-one basis, eleven carriers would be required over the life of the program. However, the last Nimitz-class aircraft carrier is not scheduled to be decommissioned until 2058.
In a speech on 6 April 2009, then Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced that the program would shift to a five-year building program so as to place it on a "more fiscally sustainable path". Such a measure would result in ten carriers after 2040.[
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SFC William Farrell
SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL - Nice picture Joe. I would have loved to have seen it being built!
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I'm surprised this soon to be ex-president didn't scuttle the building of it.
Maybe it was he was too busy with his "social programs"... and gettin them on track.
Maybe it was he was too busy with his "social programs"... and gettin them on track.
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LTC (Join to see)
But it is behind schedule and the only carrier right now deployed as a Chinese one that they bought from the ukrainians before Russia annexing Crimea
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The Gerald R Ford is a much more appropriate name for a Navy ship than the Gabby Gifford SP5 Mark Kuzinski
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SFC William Farrell
SP5 Mark Kuzinski - Im sure the Commie in the Whitehouse had something to do with it Mark!
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