Navy delaying CVN-78 post-shakedown availability to October

摘要

The Navy will delay completing the aircraft carrier Gerald Ford's (CVN-78) post-shakedown availability by three months, citing problems with the Advanced Weapons Elevators and adjustments to the nuclear power plant, a service official announced today during a House subcommittee hearing. Navy acquisition executive Hondo Geurts told the House Armed Services seapower and projection forces subcommittee about the delay in response to a question from Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA) about the Ford's schedule. "Right now, my current estimate is that [delivery is] going to be in October," Geurts said of the Ford's PSA completion. The Ford-class ships are integrating several new technologies, but the weapon elevators remain the one system that has continued to trouble senior service leadership. As of September 2018, the director of operational test and evaluation found the "development, installation, and delivery of the Advanced Weapons Elevators remains behind schedule," Inside Defense reported.