On July 22, 2017, US Navy commissioned world’s largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R Ford into the fleet. The commissioning ceremony was held at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia in presence of US President Donald Trump.
USS Gerald R. Ford is the first ship in this new class of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers for the U.S. Navy.
The ship is named after the 38th President of the United States Gerald Ford and has been built by Newport News Ship Building Company.
The keel for the US$12.8 billion USS Gerald R Ford was laid down in 2009.
The massive 1,106-foot-long carrier displaces a staggering 100,000 tons fully loaded and is powered by two new generation nuclear reactors.
This carrieris intended to be the first of a class of aircraft carriers that offers significant performance improvements over the previous Nimitz class.
For USS Gerald R Ford, US Navy replaced the steam-powered catapult system found on the older Nimitz-Class carriers with an electro-magnetic aircraft launch system.
It also has an updated arresting gear to catch planes landing on the ship’s deck.
USS Gerald R Ford has a larger and more efficient flight deck facilitating faster aircraft launching, more than twice the electrical power of previous carrier classes and a more efficient crew compliment with 500 fewer personnel on board.
The Ford will now undergo final outfitting and testing before operational deployment in 2021.
It is to be note that USS Gerald R Ford is the first major redesign of U.S. aircraft carriers in 40 years. The second ship, USS John F. Kennedy is under construction and work has begun on the future USS Enterprise.