It has been a rocky road for the carrier, but the USS Gerald R. Ford is poised to enter service with the United States Navy despite several developmental hiccups.
The recent completion of the U.S. Navy's full ship shock trial testing of the USS Gerald R. Ford involved the controlled detonation of some 40,000 pounds of ordnance in the water near the hull.
Here s What You Need to Remember: The carrier air wing will form the carrier’s primary means of deploying both offensive and defensive firepower. The
Ford class will embark two squadrons of ten to twelve F-35C Joint Strike Fighters, two squadrons of ten to twelve F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, five EA-18G Growler electronic attack jets, four E-2D Hawkeye airborne early-warning and control aircraft, and two C-2 Greyhound carrier onboard delivery (COD) planes. It will also carry eight MH-60S Seahawk helicopters.
In 2009, the U.S. Navy finally began construction of the first new type of aircraft carrier in nearly thirty-five years. Named after former president and naval aviator Gerald R. Ford, the USS