As the Navy ramps up its great power game, it must learn Ford’s lessons to ensure major new programs like ballistic missile submarines, frigates, a surface warship and large- and medium-displacement unmanned vessels, a large unmanned tanker aircraft and more are successfully and quickly executed.
Onboard the USS Ford- The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) represents many firsts – new design, new electrical system, new propulsion plant, new aircraft launch and recovery system, new radars, new elevators and more. That the world’s most expensive warship ever built has teething troubles is well known, and that’s putting it mildly. During the Ford’s first operational period between mid-2017 and mid-2018 the carrier spent only 81 days at sea, and ten times had to cut short testing periods to come home with a serious problem. The Navy and its contractors were exceptionally mum about the detailed nature of many of those problems, stung by a never-ending stream of criticism from Congress and a host of media, commentators and analysts.
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — The champagne bottle hit the cold steel hull and bounced off it did not break. Undaunted, the Honorable Caroline Bouvier Kennedy, former U.S. Ambassador to Japan and daughter of the late President John F. Kennedy pulled back and again swung the glass bottle with the force of a baseball player hitting a home run.Uttering for the second time in 52-years Kennedy the words “I christen thee United States Ship John F. Kennedy, may God bless this ship and all who sail her” – the second swing did the job.
WASHINGTON – A $22.2 billion block-buy contract for nine more SSN 774 Virginia-class submarines with an option for a tenth sub was announced Tuesday by the US Navy. Prime contractor General Dynamics Electric Boat (GDEB) and major subcontractor Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) Newport News Shipbuilding are the primary beneficiaries of the new deal.
On Board the USS Gerald R. Ford — The skipper of the world’s most technologically advanced aircraft carrier says the ship has”absolutely” turned the corner and is now ready to work towards full operational status.
After a 15-month stint back in the shipyard where the ship was built, most of its plethora of new technology is now up and running. The ship is now ready to begin advanced trials as the crew and the Navy will now learn how to take Ford’s high-tech gear to the next level and earn a spot in the deployment rotation.
Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer minced no words about the USS Gerald R. Ford’s struggles and recent lawmaker comments about the ship while talking to reporters in Norfolk on Oct. 28, shortly after arriving back from a several hour visit to the ship, which is undergoing trials off the Virginia Coast. Defense & Aerospace Report’s Mark Faram was present at the discussion and captured this video.
The Navy was kept in the dark by Huntington Ingalls’ leadership about the severity of engineering issues with Advanced Weapons Elevators on the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford according to Navy’s top civilian official speaking with reporters Sunday at Naval Station Norfolk.
Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer minced no words after being questioned about the Ford’s struggles and recent lawmaker comments about the ship shortly after arriving back ashore from a several hour visit to the ship, which is undergoing trials off the Virginia Coast.
The aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) is the most expensive ship ever built by the US government, and quite possibly by any government. No one knows the true price given the various computational ways to figure the costs of design and development of the ship and its various systems, building the carrier and buying thousands of installed systems and components, and getting all those systems to work as intended. The final bill isn’t in, but all things considered, it is safe to say it will be somewhere north of $15 billion.
Patrick Marotta, the third-generation chief executive of Marotta Controls, discusses leading a family-owned firm founded by his grandfather during World War II that has remained a globally competitive supplier of unique high-tech components for aerospace and defense applications with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian. The interview was conducted at the Navy League’s 2019 Sea Air Space conference and tradeshow where our coverage was sponsored by GE Marine, Huntington Ingalls Industries and Leonardo DRS.
Curtis Pearson, director of strategic programs at Northrop Grumman, discusses next generation jammers on EA-18G Growler, development and rapid implementation with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian. The interview was conducted at the Navy League’s recent 2019 Sea Air Space conference and tradeshow near Washington where our coverage was sponsored by GE Marine, Huntington Ingalls Industries and Leonardo DRS.