The United States Navy is known to be the biggest and most efficient naval force in the world. Obviously, the two biggest reasons why the U.S. Navy holds such a stature globally is its highly talented and hard-working personnel coupled with weaponry made using high-end technology and the constant zeal of the U.S. Navy to stay ahead of the pack by coming up with innovation in all the aspects related to an actual combat. Today, we take a look at the latest creation by the United States Navy in the form of an aircraft carrier ship named USS Gerald R. Ford. What this carrier is capable of achieving in the situation of an active combat with an enemy, because of its state of the art equipment is driving the whole world crazy! So, it’s obvious that you’ll be left thrilled to the core after reading about this modern day marvel!
USS Gerald R. Ford
This ship is the first of the elite section of United States Navy supercarriers and is a stunning proof of the US Navy being the most powerful in the world. It is proudly named after Gerald Ford, the 38th President of the United States who also served the nation during World War II combating enemy forces in the Pacific aboard the light aircraft navy carrier named Monterey. The construction of this sea-beast started on 11 August 2005 and eventually, this ambitious project which cost the government a staggering amount of $13 billion saw its completion on 9 November 2013, the day the ship was ceremonially launched. 22 July 2017, will be remembered as a golden day in the history of US Navy as President Trump commissioned this magnificent and intimidating warship on that day.
USS John F Kennedy
It seems that the US Navy is really up to the task of cementing their global dominance as a Naval unit. This is evident from the fact that apart from turning the dreamy figure of USS Gerald R. Ford into reality, the government is also coming up with USS John F Kennedy CVN-79 to team up with USS Gerald R. Ford. After successfully commissioning USS Ford in 2017, the authorities are confident enough for USS Kennedy which is presently under construction at Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia to be commissioned in 2020. up 2nd in the new Ford-class is the USS John F Kennedy CVN-79. It was in the year 2011, that the ship was officially named for the 35th President of the United States, John F Kennedy.
Launching of the Ford
Interestingly, USS Gerald R. Ford became one of the few US ships to be named after a living person when Donald Rumsfeld a former United States Secretary of Defense told the media on 3 January 2007 that he had personally conveyed the news of the honor to Ford, a few weeks before his death. Eventually, the ship was officially named CVN-78 USS Gerald R. Ford. on 16 January 2007 by Donald Winter a navy secretary, with Susan Ford daughter of Gerald Ford being named the sponsor of the ship. The air of doubt and fear from the minds of the government officials and everyone associated with this ambitious project got cleared on November 2013, when the magnificent ship saw the initiation of its successful trials after being launched into the James River located in Virginia from a dry dock. The whole nation was confident of the ship coming handy during naval operations.
American Might
The successful launch of USS Gerald R. Ford was an indication for the whole world that the United States is growing day by day and strengthening its claim of being the most powerful and supreme nation in the world. President Trump’s reaction was also on the same line when he visited USS Gerald Ford as he went on to say in his speech,“American hands and American steel constructed a 100,000-ton message to the world: American might is second to none.” No doubt, USS Gerald R. Ford has given countries like China and Russia something to definitely ponder about as they are the top contenders fighting it out with the USA to gain the status of a supreme nation.
The event
The ceremony was as grand and magnificent as the ship itself. There were many members of the U.S. Navy present at the Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia with the guest of honor being commander in chief of the U.S. military Donald Trump to celebrate the commissioning of the ship. Interestingly, President Trump was not at all happy initially with the project of making USS Gerald R. Ford. On being asked about the ship in an interview with Time, he said,”costs hundreds of millions of dollars more money and it’s no good.” Contrarily, the ship on its completion equipped with an electromagnetic launch system and capable of efficient take-off and landing with the help of advanced arresting gear made sure that President Trump was all in praise on its commissioning.
Trials for 2021
At the time of commissioning the final price tag came out to be around 13 billion which is due to increase as the trials 0f the ship planned for the year 2021 is going to increase the final price tag by $780 million. The ship gave everybody a glimpse of what it was capable of during its initial sea trials. People like Matt Mulherin, president of Newport News Shipbuilding and others who were on board were delightedly exclaimed, “It just performed like a champ.” The main attraction was the high-speed turns taken by the ship which saw it moving back and forth. “You’re up on the island,” Mulherin said, “and you look out one window and all you see is the sky. You look out the other window and all you see is water. It’s amazing how fast the ship responds.”