President Ford’s Daughter

The highlight of the traditional ceremony on July 22 was Susan Bales Ford, daughter of President Ford giving the much-awaited order to the crew of the ship of manning it and “Bringing her to life.” A napkin ring from the carrier USS Monterey in which Susan’s father served the nation during World War II is one among the selected few items that now glorifies the walls of the inport cabin of the captain of USS Gerald R. Ford. Other items being a desk chair, Ford’s 1992 Lone Sailor Award from the U.S. Navy Memorial and an American flag. Susan ford actively participated in the construction of the ship saying that the father would have done the same thing if he would have been alive. She added,“It’s made a difference in my life, and I’ve had a great time doing it”

Subtle Improvements

It is imperative to state that the Nimitz Class which was commissioned in the year 1975  was the center of attraction in the US Navy’s arsenal for a very long time. When it comes to the cost of construction that the government bore, The Nimitz Class stands at one-third of USS Gerald Ford which makes the latter the most expensive warship ever made. Another aspect in which USS Ford dominates Nimitz is the capacity to generate electricity three times more powerful using its two new-design AB1 nuclear reactors. But, the most stunning upgrade is that of Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System which would significantly improve the take-off speeds using electromagnetic field and Advanced Arresting Gear(AAG) giving it a state of the art landing system.

Sitting in Drydock

Some of the other positive qualities of USS Gerald R. Ford which might not seem that stunning are new electric weapons elevators, various advancements regarding optimization of space, a bigger flight deck area, a redesigned island, and a state of the art sewage system. The Ford Class’s dedicated website states, “During the design process, the shipbuilders found hidden value in every square inch of the ship. Thus, it will save Americans billions over the years.” The ship is fully automated which enables it to operate with the help of fewer crew members. As, Newport News Shipbuilding’s President Matt Mulherin said in an interview,“We’ve taken off a lot of bunks, and taken off workload for a lot of sailors, but it retains all of the functionality of the Nimitz-class ships.”

Augmented Reality Technology

It is for the first time that a ship constructed by Newport News Shipbuilding is equipped with augmented-reality technology.”It’s like the difference between having a TV and not having a TV,” allowing users “to see things in 3D before they’re there,” said Dexter Lilley, the chief operating officer of Index AR Solutions, which worked with Newport News on the technology. The significant use of AR in ships is to replace drawings and paperwork packages. USS Gerald R. Ford is the first ship to be made with the help of a full-scale 3D model. Moreover, this technology will make sure during the 50 years of service that it saves more than $4 billion in total ownership costs. The crew members of the USS Gerald R. Ford will be using tablets in order to manage and control some applications. This is the best example of augmented technology solutions.

3D Design

The person you see in this strange image is Newport News engineer Tosha Revere and here she is describing the Rapid Operational Virtual Reality (ROVR) system which is used to visualize spaces in the USS Gerald R. Ford, the first ship to be made using a 3D model. COO of Index AR solutions, Dexter Lilley excitedly says,”Now they walk into space, access the 3D marker and look around the ship, and the temporary steel shows up in green, we took 36 hours of work and did it in 90 minutes.” He added by stating,”A lot of people think you can buy a piece of AR software and solve complex industrial problems and you just can’t, we stretch Vuforia — it’s not designed to do training or instructions, it’s designed to provide vision science.”

4 Million Pounds of Metal

If we go on with describing the astounding features of the USS Gerald R. Ford through numbers then you should certainly brace yourself for getting amazed. As the most technologically advanced warship, ever built costs a whopping $12.9 billion, built by 5000 skillful American shipbuilders. The ship is coated with an unbelievable 200,000 gallons of paint and weighs around 90,000 tons which is equivalent to the weight of four hundred Statues of Liberty. On top of it all, it has been made using four million pounds of metal. “Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers and carrier strike groups will provide the core capabilities of forwarding presence, deterrence, sea control, power projection, maritime security and humanitarian assistance,” according to the Navy’s website.