(Bloomberg) — The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford arrived in port in Crete on Monday after being forced to abandon the Middle East — and the war against Iran — when a fire broke out in its laundry room. But the huge ship’s problems run much deeper.
Delivered a few years later in May 2017, the Ford is the most expensive US warship ever built at $13.2 billion.
And it has been sent to sea for an extended deployment – which has seen the vessel involved in conflicts with Venezuela and Iran – despite open questions about how well it would fare in war.
Concerns surrounding the Ford range from potentially serious to mundane, according to a new assessment by the Pentagon’s test office, with many of the issues emerging after combat testing begins in October 2022. The Navy did not comment on the report.
Among the lingering concerns: not enough current test data to assess the Ford’s “serviceability” or the reliability of several key systems, including its jet launch and recovery system, its radar, its ability to continue operating if hit by enemy fire, and its elevators for moving weapons and munitions for warplanes from the cargo hold to the flight deck.
The Pentagon’s test office said there are “insufficient data available at this time” — nine years after the ship’s delivery — “to determine the operational effectiveness of the Ford class” due to incomplete realistic combat tests.
That means it’s unclear how well the Ford — and other ships in its class that have yet to be delivered — can detect, track or intercept enemy aircraft, anti-ship missiles or small attack aircraft. It’s also unclear how the carrier’s systems would perform under the wartime stress of constant takeoffs and landings.
Ford, which had been sent to the Red Sea for operations against Iran, eventually left the Battle of Crete, not due to enemy attack, but after a fire in the ship’s laundry area. As a result, more than 200 sailors were treated for smoke inhalation, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Virginia, wrote to Navy Secretary John Phelan last week.
The incident underscored how even the U.S. Navy’s most advanced assets are under pressure as the Trump administration relies on a version of gunboat diplomacy to achieve geopolitical goals in Iran and Venezuela — amassing armies off the coast to pressure adversaries with the prospect of military action.
The Ford spent months at sea beyond a standard deployment after taking part in US operations against Venezuela before President Donald Trump sent it to the Middle East. While a normal tour lasts about seven months, Ford has been at sea for about nine months — since June of last year.
Ford “is on track to break the record for the longest carrier deployment since the end of the Vietnam War,” Kaine wrote, adding that the extended tour “forced Sailors to improvise with broken equipment and ship support systems.”
Some testing issues were identified but not fixed. While the Ford’s ability to defend against drones and small, high-speed attack boats has been tested as early as 2022, the Navy has developed fixes for the combat systems — identified in the classified assessment — but “the fixes still remain largely unfunded,” the test agency said.
The lab found other problems.
One is that there are not “enough” berths, with 159 additional berths needed to properly house all Ford sailors except personnel in temporary units accompanying the ship into battle. The shortage could worsen if the carrier’s air wing further diversifies to include additional F-35 warplanes or personnel to operate Boeing MQ-25 Stingray refueling drones.
“These mooring deficiencies will affect the quality of life on board,” the testing authority said.
More such stories are available at bloomberg.com
