The USS Gerald R. Ford: The Ship for Such a Time as This

By Luther Ray Abel

Sunday, October 08, 2023

 

Almost 20 years and $13 billion after its conception, the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) — four and a half acres of floating, non-skid American sovereignty purpose-built to fight her wars in the 21st century — is steaming toward the eastern Mediterranean in response to the Iran-backed slaughter and mayhem that Hamas perpetrated across Israel’s southern district. That our Navy can immediately answer the call on the other side of the world with six hulls is no accident. It’s a feat of logistics and diplomacy never before known.

 

Arrayed around the Ford are the ships and aircraft of the carrier strike group — submarines, destroyers, cruisers, F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, and E-2D Hawkeyes. Behind them are the support vessels of the Military Sealift Command, a logistics outfit that can keep the fighting ships fueled and outfitted for as long as they need.

 

U.S. Central Command issued the following notice today:

 

TAMPA, Fla. – The United States has begun moving USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group to the Eastern Mediterranean. This includes the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), the Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser USS Normandy (CG 60), as well as the Arleigh-Burke-class guided missile destroyers USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116), USS Ramage (DDG 61), USS Carney (DDG 64), and USS Roosevelt (DDG 80). We have also taken steps to augment U.S. Air Force F-15, F-16, and A-10 fighter aircraft squadrons in the region. The U.S. maintains ready forces globally to further reinforce this posture if required.

 

“USCENTCOM stands firmly with our Israeli and regional partners to address the risks of any party seeking to expand the conflict,” said General Michael “Erik” Kurilla, Commander, U.S. Central Command.

 

The Ford is the first of its class and, in the ship’s first real deployment, faces a situation that may test everything heralded about the platform’s information-gathering, defensive, and offensive advancements over the aging Nimitz-class carriers. If everything works as it ought, there’s no better ship to send to Israel’s aid. If things go wrong for the young ship’s systems, the lives of 4,200 sailors and officers are in the balance. Having started their deployment in May of this year, the ship’s company should be as competent at firefighting, watches, and battle stations as they could hope to be.

 

The Ford has three times the power output, 600 megawatts (MW) from its nuclear reactors as that of the Nimitz carriers’ 200 MW. (For reference, the largest cruise ship in the world, the Wonder of the Seas, with more than twice the tonnage, produces 182 MW of power between its generators and propulsion systems.) Rippling with energy, the Ford is equipped with electromagnetic catapults (EMALS) that gave the engineers fits but are promised to improve launch efficiency, putting 25 percent more aircraft in the skies compared with the steam units. More birds in the air means more information returning to the command elements and, quite possibly, more warheads on foreheads.

 

Kyle Mizokami explains the radar and weapons systems for the National Interest:

 

Ford will also have the most modern radar systems in the fleet. The Ford will have the new Dual Band Radar, which combines both the X-Band AN/SPY-3 Aegis radar and the S-Band Volume Surveillance Radar. DBR is capable of search, track and multiple missile illumination, detecting enemy aircraft and missiles and then guiding Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles (ESSM) to intercept.

 

For self-defense, Ford will have two Mk. 29 missile launchers with eight ESSM each, and two Rolling Airframe Missile launchers. It will also have four Phalanx Close-In Weapon Systems for point defense against aircraft, missiles and small ships, and four M2 .50 caliber machine guns. Ford’s generous electrical capacity means that the ship could someday mount laser self-defense weapons. Powered by the ship’s nuclear reactors, such a system would have a virtually limitless ammunition supply, vastly increasing the ship’s defensive capability.

 

The USS Gerald R. Ford was designed to defy missile attacks while launching aircraft that can strike targets hundreds of miles inland. The strike group it sails with has the capability to alter the complexion of continents. There is no more deadly force in the world than the one arriving near Israel’s shores in the coming hours (if it’s not there already). The U.S. Navy must succeed here. It finally has the tools, the sailors, and the opportunity to effect a great good in securing the region and warning Israel’s neighbors against rash action.

 

However, there’s significant risk. Harm to this capital ship — from a mine, a suicide vessel, or a missile — would be a tragedy of casualties compounded by the loss of the only vessel of its kind, with CVN-79 still two years from delivery. This would resulting in a genuine threat to current and future of American seapower. A bloodied next-gen carrier would put the entire eleven-ship program in jeopardy.

 

There is no vessel immune to chance, as the Spanish learned in 1588, the English in 1812, and the Mongols in 1281. The success of the attack was owed in part to Israeli and U.S. intelligence failures. What other armaments has Hamas secreted away? Has Iran gifted them armaments to test against U.S. naval forces? Russia, China, and Iran have reason to desire such an event paired with a modicum of deniability.

 

Our enemy has acted in such a destructive manner that we know they expect, and perhaps wish, to die. The USS Gerald R. Ford is the ship designed for the task of destroying such an enemy while spoiling their weapons. May the men and women aboard make the ship the best form of itself. The most important individual in the coming months could prove to be a 22-year-old electrician’s mate second class with a Fluke multimeter bringing the catapults back online. Trusting in the ability and bravery of youth has served Israel in the past. We must have faith in it in our time.