The U.S. Navy aims to begin the expansion of aircrafts that can be launched and recovered from the next-generation aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford by end of 2019, USNI News reported Wednesday. Commander Mehdi Akacem, Ford’s air boss, said the service awaits the launch and recovery bulletins needed to put the ship’s Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System and Advanced Arresting Gear in service.
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The U.S. Navy has announced the installation of aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford's first advanced weapons elevator, the service branch said Wednesday. Its newest carrier received the AWE on Dec. 21 after engineers from Huntington Ingalls Industries completed certification and testing activities.
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Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, in a letter to the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the department believes the U.S. Navy should not delay shock-testing of its $13 billion USS Gerald R. Ford carrier, Bloomberg reported Thursday. “We agree with your view that a test in normal sequence is more prudent and pragmatic,” …
Read More » The U.S. Navy has asked Defense Secretary James Mattis to delay the shock testing of the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier for at least six years in order to advance the deployment of a fleet of 11 carriers, Bloomberg reported Wednesday. The Defense Department’s testing office warned that the …
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The U.S. Navy will commission the lead aircraft carrier of the military branch’s Gerald Ford class during a ceremony that will be held Saturday at Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia. President Donald Trump will deliver the principal address at the USS Gerald R. Ford commissioning event, the Navy said Thursday. Adm. John Richardson, …
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The Government Accountability Office has urged the U.S. Navy to revise its ship delivery policy to keep defective and incomplete ships from entering the service branch’s operational fleet. GAO said in a report published Monday it evaluated six Navy ships and found that the vessels were incomplete or showed quality problems …
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President Donald Trump has pledged to rebuild the U.S. armed forces and expand the U.S. Navy‘s aircraft carrier fleet through a proposed $54 billion increase in the Defense Department budget for fiscal 2018, DoD News reported Thursday. Jim Garamone writes Trump discussed his goals for the country’s military during a ceremony held Thursday aboard the …
Read More » Senior U.S. Navy officials have decided to retain the Advanced Arresting Gear as the recovery system aboard Ford-class aircraft carriers. The Naval Air Systems Command said Monday the AAG Resource Requirements Review Board chose to continue with AAG instead of reverting to the Mk-17 legacy recovery system after the board completed a review in November …
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U.S. Navy sailors from the USS Gerald R. Ford pre-commissioning unit have completed the Advanced Arresting Gear operator and maintainer initial training program held at New Jersey-based test facilities. Nineteen sailors graduated during the second round of the six-week training course after 20 sailors completed the training in April and another previous …
Read More » Senior U.S. Navy officials have said the service branch launched a study in 2015 to evaluate possible alternatives to aircraft carriers as it prepares to accept and operate the USS Gerald R. Ford ship later this year, Scout Warrior reported Wednesday. Kris Osborn writes the study aims to assess new acquisition approaches, configurations and …
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Executive Gov 