Updated August 10th, 2021 at 18:31 IST
US Navy aircraft carrier conducts final explosion of shock trials, to be deployed in 2022
US Navy's new aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford successfully underwent the final and third explosive event off the coast of Florida, US.
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The US Navy’s new aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) underwent its third and final trials as forces rounded up the vessel’s Full Ship Shock Trials (FSST) on Monday. The aircraft carrier withstood an estimated 40,000-pound environmentally safe underwater explosive blast as it concluded its final tests, nearly four years after its commissioning. The blast was carried out by the US Navy to test the carrier’s capability to sustain operations in a combat environment (using live ordnance).
The $13 billion dollar vessel had "de-staged" all operations linked to the troubled advanced weapons elevator system. Nine of 11 lifts were “fully functional,” and two of the lower stage elevators - four and six - are a work-in-progress that would complete by end of 2021, US Navy officers stated. “Shock Trials validate a ship’s shock hardness and ability to sustain operations in a simulated combat environment using live ordnance,” United States Navy stated in a press document.
USS Gerald R. Ford Commanding Officer, Capt Paul Lanzilotta said in a statement, issued later, that it “almost brought tears to my eyes to see how well this crew performed in this live-fire test event.” The US Navy said that there was were zero significant injuries, no reports of marine mammal impacts and that all shipboard systems that went offline were "quickly restored.”
JUST IN - TODAY - USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) @Warship_78 successfully conducted its third and final explosive event off the coast of Jacksonville, FL., marking the completion of the ship’s Full Ship Shock Trials. #NavyReadiness
— U.S. Navy (@USNavy)
DETAILS: https://t.co/dkHpB2vROm pic.twitter.com/ea5UNwhsXN
According to Capt Brian Metcalf, manager for the Navy’s future aircraft carrier program office, PMS 378, the US Navy “designed the Ford-class carrier using advanced computer modelling methods, testing, and analysis to ensure the ships are hardened to withstand harsh battle conditions.” Shock trials of Ford tested its resiliency and provided extensive data used in the process of validating the shock hardness of a combat ship.
“The goal of the tests is to ensure that Ford’s integrated combat systems perform as designed and added “the tests demonstrated—and proved to the crew, fairly dramatically—that the ship will be able to withstand formidable shocks and continue to operate under extreme conditions,” Capt. Brian Metcalf, manager for the Navy’s future aircraft carrier program office said.
US Navy’s CVN 78 will be returning to the Tidewater area in a six-month Planned Incremental Availability (PIA). US Navy will conduct an additional detailed inspection, assess any damage sustained during the shots, and continue modernization and maintenance work in advance of workups for the ship’s deployment in 2022. The trials were conducted in coordination with crews on several surfaces and aviation platforms that support FSST. FSSTs are complex evolutions, conducted during a precise operating schedule in compliance with exacting environmental mitigation requirements, respecting known migration patterns of marine life and protected species, according to the US Navy. Ford’s shock trials required exacting coordination across multiple Navy/Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) organizations and experienced FSST teams.
“FSST has proven a critical investment in the Ford-class development,” Rear Adm. James P. Downey, program executive officer for aircraft carriers said. “When you think about the threats to warships posed by non-contact blasts and the number of sea mines in the inventories of navies around the world, the gravity and consequence of these shock trials really come into focus,” he added.
Scientists, biologists, and observers assigned to Ford
FSST teams notified mariners to avoid the test area and implemented extensive protocols to ensure the safety of the military involvement in the operation. A dozen scientists, biologists, and observers were assigned to Ford, along with nearby support vessels, and observation aircraft. “Crews operated in a heightened state of watchful readiness in anticipation of the ultimate go/no-go decision,” US Navy said. Ford’s Commanding Officer, Capt. Paul Lanzilotta was the tactical commander that ordered the go/no-go decision. “Safety was always the driving consideration throughout the shock trials,” recalled Lanzilotta. US Navy has conducted FSSTs over several decades, most recently for the Littoral Combat Ships USS Jackson (LCS 6) and USS Milwaukee (LCS 5) in 2016.
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Published August 10th, 2021 at 18:31 IST