xpolloFirst Cut of Steel
It was in August 2005 that CVN-78’s first steel was cut. The event was succeeded by the handing over of a $1.5 billion contract in September 2008 to the Newport News and laying the keel of the ship in November 2009. The ship was being equipped with 4 thirty tonne bronze propellers in October 2013 with the first voyage taking place a month later. Tests like Anchor aboard the carrier and EMALS were completed in June 2014 and May 2015 respectively. Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) stated,”As is typical with sea trials, the Navy and shipbuilder learned a great deal about the ship’s performance during the extensive testing.” “We have a few work items like you’d expect on something the size of a city,” Mulherin, president of Newport News Shipbuilding, said.
Steel Foundry
Northrop Grumman, a company pioneering in global security melted an unbelievable 35 Tons of Steel for Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) Propeller Struts. No doubt, in order to succeed in a challenging task like this, the Newport News Shipbuilding facility came up with its own steel foundry on-site. Actually, the Newport News shipyard had purchased the foundry in the year 1902 which was established in 1856. The foundry got worldwide recognition for supporting significant hydro-electric projects like Hoover Dam and producing excellent castings for numerous ships both commercial and belonging to the U.S. Navy. A precise insight into the outstanding potential of the foundry is that it is able to produce 8 million pounds of castings per year.
Missile Time
When it comes to attacking the enemy forces the word that comes to everybody’s mind in an instant is that of a missile. Undoubtedly, the construction team left no stone unturned when it came to developing one of the unique and most advanced additions to the ship that of Active electronically scanned array search and tracking radar system. In the image, you can see the missiles being loaded into the ships cautiously by the sailors belonging to the ship’s Combat Systems department. Intensive care needs to be taken when dealing with an extremely dangerous and sensitive object like a missile, which implies that the sailors are specially trained to handle such objects and deal with pressure situations calmly. The USS Ford is able to carry 90 aircraft in one go which turns out to be a stunning figure when compared with other carriers.
Propellers
The weight on the dry dock saw an exponential rise after the installation of 4 thirty-ton bronze propellers. Each propeller is 21 feet in diameter and helps the carrier to move swiftly cutting through the water. Rolf Bartschi, NNS’ vice president, CVN 78 carrier construction said, “Installation of the propellers culminates more than 10 months of focused work by numerous trades in support of installing the underwater shafting. The configuration of the blades, the weight of the propellers and the extremely tight tolerances required make this a challenging installation. I commend the rigging and machinery installation mechanics for a job well done.” In the image, you can see the workers using a torque wrench in order to tighten the propellers.
Another Ford Class Ship
The government is coming up with another Ford class carrier ship named USS John F. Kennedy(CVN-79), a ship under construction with its commissioning set it in the year 2020. It was an announcement by the Department of Defense on 29 May 2011, which led to the ship being named after for John F. Kennedy (1917–1963), who served in the Navy during World War II and became the 35th President of the United States. Consequently, a $374 million contract was awarded to Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding on 15 January 2009, for the design work and construction of the ship. The ship’s sponsor is late President Kennedy’s daughter Caroline Kennedy.
Fire Controlmen
When the U.S. Navy ships are in danger of being attacked by anti-ship missiles, the MK 15 Phalanx Close-In Weapons System which is a rapid-fire 20-millimeter gun with lightning-quick reactions comes to their rescue. It is specially designed to engage in a short range battle with anti-ship cruise missiles and fixed-wing aircraft. In the image, you can see the MK-15 close-in weapon system of the ship being fed with dummy ammunition by the crew of the ship. They do it as a part of their routine maintenance check. The production of this highly effective weapon system started in the year 1978 which consists of two 20mm gun mounts.