The US Navy has completed tests of the Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier, which is the most expensive ship built in the world, with underwater explosions [...], Defense News reports.
The tests were conducted in three stages. The last test, which took place in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida, included an underwater explosion of a projectile from the right side of the aircraft carrier. The explosion, which had a capacity of 18 tons in TNT equivalent, was recorded as an earthquake of magnitude 3.9.
According to the results of the tests, this explosion caused less damage to the aircraft carrier than initially expected.
In July, the magazine Popular Mechanics, referring to the chief of naval operations of the US Navy, Admiral Michael Gilday, reported that the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford turned out to be overly technological. According to the military, we are talking about 23 technological solutions that create difficulties during the operation of the ship.
In October 2019, a video with a sharp turn of the US Navy's Gerald R. Ford nuclear aircraft carrier was published on the ship's official Twitter account.
This aircraft carrier provides for the placement of more than 4.5 thousand military and 75 aircraft. The ship is equipped with RIM-162 ESSM medium-range ship-to-air anti-aircraft missiles, ship-based anti-aircraft missile and anti-aircraft artillery systems. The displacement of the aircraft carrier is 100 thousand tons, the length is 332.8 meters, the width is 40.8 meters (waterline), 78 meters (flight deck). The maximum speed is 30 knots. The service life is at least 50 years. Gerald R. Ford was received by the US Navy in July 2017. The cost of Gerald R. Ford exceeds $ 13 billion
Ivan Potapov
