New USS Ford Carrier – Pacific or Middle East

By Kris Osborn

Bringing a new generation of carrier technologies to strategically vital hotspots around the world, service officials told Scout Warrior. 

“If you look at where the priorities and activities are now – that is where it will likely go,” a Navy official told Scout Warrior. 

The Navy’s top acquisition official, Sean Stackley, told Congress earlier this year that the new carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, will deliver to the Navy in September of this year; following deployment preparations called “post shakedown availability” in 2017 and “shock trials” in 2019, the carrier is slated to deploy in 2021, service officials said. “Shock trials” involve testing the large ship in a series of different maritime conditions such as rough seas caused by explosions from combat and enemy fire.  

The Navy official stressed that no formal decisions have, as of yet, been made regarding deployment and that the USS Ford’s deployment will naturally depend upon what the geopolitical and combat requirements wind up being in the early 2020s.

“Deciding where to deploy an aircraft carrier always involves a thoughtful and deliberate process,” another Navy official told Scout Warrior. 

At the same time, given the Pentagon’s Pacific rebalance, it is not difficult or surprising to forsee the new carrier venturing to the Pacific. The power-projection capabilities of the new carrier could likely be designed as a deterrent to stop China from more aggressive activities in places such as the highly-contested South China Sea. The Navy’s plan for the Pacific does call for the service to operate as much as 60-percent of its fleet in the Asia Pacific region. 

Having a high-tech carrier in the Pacific could better enable the Navy to strengthen its presence in the region.