(01-31-2022 02:35 PM)MileHighBronco Wrote:  You’re Gonna Need a Better Boat: Navy’s New $13B Aircraft Carrier Fails Testing.
The USS Gerald R. Ford’s Combat System Can’t Defend the Costly Carrier.

Quote:The USS Gerald R. Ford is the world’s largest aircraft carrier. It’s almost four football fields long and cost $13 billion dollars to build. Formally commissioned by President Donald Trump on 22 July 2017, the ship is a sight to behold —a behemoth of a thing.

According to the ship’s website (yes, it has a website) “the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) is a first-in-class aircraft carrier, and the first new aircraft carrier designed in over 40 years. The Sailors who serve aboard Ford are tasked with ensuring the ship is able to execute national tasking for decades to come.”

There’s just one problem…it doesn’t work very well.

“Mixed performance by missile interceptors, radar and data dissemination systems on a testing vessel limited the ability to destroy replicas of incoming weapons even though sensor systems ‘satisfactorily detected, tracked and engaged the targets,’” according to the report obtained by Bloomberg News.

“The carrier built by Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. is still dogged as well by the ‘poor or unknown reliability’ of its aircraft launch and recovery systems, according to the five-page report. And recent shock tests to assess the vulnerability of key systems ‘identified several design shortfalls not previously discovered,’ the testing office said. It said ‘the Navy has already identified several survivability’ opportunities to improve the four-carrier class of ships ‘against underwater threat engagements,’” Bloomberg continues.

As Russia and China continue to test more advanced weaponry (hyper-sonic missiles), the pressure is on the U.S. to get some serious firepower into the water. China is cranking out patrol boats, frigates, cruisers and submarines with advanced anti-ship cruise missiles —all things the USS Gerald R. Ford is not ready to defend against.

https://thedrilldown.com/newsroom/youre-...s-testing/

Im thinking we'd be better off building 5 more Nimitz/Reagan class carriers along with 5 to 10 more America class amphibs that are fully optimized for carrier operations. While these Amphib's would retain some secondary capability for amphibious assaults---the primary purpose of these vessels would be aviation. The cost of 5 Nimitz/Reagan class carriers is about 50 billion. The cost of 5 Fords is about 70 billion. The cost of an America class light carrier is about 3.4 billion. So you can have 5 Nimitz/Reagan class carriers and 6 America class light carriers for about the same cost as just 5 Ford class carriers. I think we are much better off with 11 carriers that work well than just 5---that's especially true if the 5 Ford carriers dont work all that well. The America "light carriers" would carry about 20-25 F-35B Lightning fighter jets. Thats a pretty capable air wing--one that is arguably better than any carrier foe in the world outside of our own Nimitz/Regan/Ford carriers. If you develop a stealth VTOL autonomous drone for the Navy, these "light carriers" could add even more capability to their air wing.

To me, the Navy should be pouring money into missile, smart shell, and VTOL stealth drone tech. Electric catapults and fancy elevators seem like a waste of money to me. The current tech in those areas is more than adequate. A one shell one hit style smart munition for the main guns our navy ships would make a real difference in the field---something an electric catapult cant match. Same goes for an autonomous VTOL stealth drone. Such a drone could increase the utility of almost every warship in the Navy. Improvements in missile tech---obviously increases the lethality and survivability of every navy ship.