February 27, 2018
We Must Shock-Test the USS Gerald R. Ford
Earlier this month the U.S. Navy submitted a request to Secretary of Defense Mattis to postpone the planned shock testing of the USS Gerald R. Ford, the new Ford-class super carrier, until the second carrier of its class, the USS John F. Kennedy, goes through its post-launch tests some six years from now. A shock test involves setting off a series of underwater explosive charges of sufficient size, detonating them closer and closer to the ship to shake the ship enough to determine weak points or other issues in the ship’s design. The test is done with a full crew onboard and is intended not to damage the ship but to judge its adaptability to combat conditions.
The Navy’s argument is that the Navy’s need to increase the number of deployable super carriers to eleven (we now have ten) in order to take strain off of the overall fleet exceeds its need to analyze the robustness and resilience of the Ford’s design. In other words, getting the Ford on deployment quickly is more important to the Navy than shock-testing it.
Read the full article in National Review.
More from CNAS
-
Will Europe Send Combat Forces to Ukraine?
Commentary
Any idea that Europe could deter Russia from breaking a cease-fire and renewing its attack with the presence of a light peacekeeping force is fantasy....
By Franz-Stefan Gady
-
There Is Still Much To Know About Drone Sightings on the East Coast
Podcast
NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to Stacie Pettyjohn of the Center for a New American Security, about why the federal government hasn't provided more details about drones spotted ove...
By Stacie Pettyjohn
-
Defense Expert Weighs In on Mysterious Drone Sightings
Video
Stacie Pettyjohn, director of the defense program at the think tank Center for a New American Security, discusses the drone sightings, which some officials are calling "a slig...
By Stacie Pettyjohn
-
How Trump Will Change the World
Commentary
Trump has won the chance to determine U.S. national security policy and will wield the impressive power embodied in the men and women now waiting to work for him....
By Peter Feaver
