The Navy’s newest aircraft carrier was delivered two years late and $2.5 billion over budget and still has fundamental flaws preventing it from being deployed. Senators grilled President Trump’s nominee for Navy chief at his confirmation hearing to find out why.
The service took possession of the USS Gerald R. Ford in 2017 at a price of $13 billion, making it the most expensive U.S. warship ever. But two years later, several of its crucial systems remain unworkable. Senate Armed Services Committee members questioned Vice Adm. Michael Gilday, director of the joint staff and nominee for chief of naval operations, Wednesday as to why these problems continue to prevent the much-needed Ford from being deployed.
“You know, this ought to be criminal,” Chairman Jim Inhofe said.
“[T]he Ford was supposed to pull out from its maintenance period this month. The departure has been delayed until October.”
The ship’s malfunctioning Advanced Weapons Elevators have been particularly problematic. The elevators are used to transport weaponry to the ship’s deck to be loaded on aircraft, making them crucial to carrier operations.
When working properly, the Ford’s magnet-powered elevators can lift 24,000 pounds of ordnance at 150 feet per minute, a significant improvement over older cable elevators that could only handle 10,500 pounds at 100 feet per minute. But only two of the new elevators are functional. Navy Secretary Richard Spencer told Trump in December that “the elevators will be ready to go when she pulls out or you can fire me.”
Gilday said the delay was “a failure of the Navy” and admitted Spencer’s promise would not be kept.
“I share your concern and I agree with your assessment, including the fact that we will likely only have two, perhaps four, elevators operational by the time Ford leaves for availability in the fall,” Gilday said. “It’s still unacceptable. We need all 11 elevators working in order to give us the kind of redundancy and combat readiness that the American taxpayer has invested in that ship.”
“Of course, you know it’s more than just the elevators,” Inhofe responded.
The Ford’s new electromagnetic catapult system for launching aircraft has been infamously unreliable — it’s a favorite talking point of President Trump. Its arresting gear, which is used to slow down landing aircraft, has also proven problematic.
The Ford engaged in what is known as “shakedown” testing after its delivery in 2017 for about a year, during which time it engaged in 747 aircraft launches, experiencing a critical failure once every 75 cycles, according to Inhofe. The Oklahoma Republican noted that the Navy’s own requirements allow for only one failure per 4,000 cycles for the catapult and one failure per 10,000 cycles for the arresting gear.
Government and Navy officials are desperate to deploy the Ford, the planned replacement for the USS Enterprise, which was decommissioned in 2010. The U.S. Navy has only had 10 operational aircraft carriers since then, two short of the required 12.
The Ford’s astronomical costs and the development of anti-ship missiles by adversaries like Russia and China have left some questioning if aircraft carriers are worth the cost in modern warfare.
“I don’t know how I go back to my constituents, and all of us to the American people, and make the case for the Ford and others in its class that may follow it after the cost overruns and delays that we’ve seen, and also the continued questions about whether aircraft carriers make sense in today’s military environment,” Connecticut Democrat Richard Blumenthal said.
Blumenthal suggested the Navy “better explain to the American people why this class of weapons platforms has continued value that justifies the cost.” He added that the Navy could buy a few submarines for the cost of one Ford-class carrier.
If confirmed, Gilday will take over the Navy as it continues to transition from a focus on the war on terrorism to more conventional adversaries like China and Russia. In addition to overseeing preparations for the Ford, Gilday will be responsible for the Trump administration’s goals of modernizing and expanding the Navy.
The Senate had already confirmed a new Navy chief in May. But Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. William Moran withdrew his nomination earlier this month after revelations about a professional relationship he maintained with a former public affairs officer reassigned after complaints about his bad behavior during a Navy Christmas party raised questions about Moran’s judgment.
