Massive Maritime Attack: The USS Ford is a Deployed, Operational Warship … After Years of Drama

By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization

(Washington DC) Many are likely familiar with the years of cost and drama, Congressional debate, and technological challenges associated with developing the now operational first-in-class USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78).

As far back as ten years ago, the Navy was facing Congressional scrutiny for cost overruns, delays, and integration challenges with some of the new technologies.

However, here we are and the USS Ford is at sea as an emblem of U.S. current and future power. The carrier operates as a floating city able to hold massive amounts of enemy areas at risk, a stabilizing presence around the globe signaling forward presence, deterrence, and U.S.-backed security assurance.

Innovative Technologies

At the same time, should the USS Ford and its follow-on Ford-class carriers be called upon to war, there are a number of first-of-a-kind breakthrough technologies likely to massively improve the ship’s lethality and ability to project power.

In short, despite the often talked about vulnerabilities associated with carriers now faced with advanced modern threats such as anti-ship guided missiles or drone swarms, carriers are unique in their ability to unleash massive amounts of dominant power.

This is particularly true of the USS Ford, as it is built with a larger deck space able to support a 33 percent increase in sortie rate over the Nimitz-class. This fact, combined with the U.S. Navy’s recent demonstration of dual-carrier war preparation drills in the Pacific, suggests that Ford-class carriers could launch and sustain a massive, dominating air campaign from the sea in ways previously unimaginable.

The USS Ford also introduces unprecedented levels of computer automation sufficient to reduce the needed crew size by 900, incorporate electric elevators able to quickly refuel and rearm returning aircraft, and a breakthrough Electromagnetic Launch System (EMALS).