Sneak peek at US Navy’s new $13B aircraft carrier

Perched 50 feet above the USS Gerald Ford’s massive flight deck, Petty Officer 1st Class Jose Triana has a clear view of the horizon from his padded captain’s chair in the pilot house of the world’s most advanced aircraft carrier.

“This ship can basically drive itself,” Triana said, pointing to a touch-screen navigation display that has replaced the traditional throttle system used to power and steer the US Navy’s older carrier classes.

The one-of-a-kind control system is just one of many state-of-the-art upgrades aboard the $13 billion USS Gerald Ford that was commissioned into active duty on July 22 after eight years of construction, development and testing.

The flight deck aboard the USS Gerald Ford aircraft carrier.

The USS Gerald Ford docked at Naval Station Norfolk next to the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower.

A view from the flight deck of the USS Gerald Ford.

The "island" aboard the USS Gerald Ford.

The 1,100-foot USS Gerald Ford docked in Norfolk , Va ahead of its commissioning ceremony.

The USS Gerald Ford's flight deck view from the carrier's from the bridge.

USS Gerald Ford Commissioning

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As the first new carrier design in 40 years, the 1,100-foot Ford incorporates advanced technology and operational systems that will allow aircraft take off and land more quickly, a smaller crew and improved survivability against projected threats, according to the Navy.

“One primary difference is the crew composition,” said the ship’s executive officer, Capt. Brent Gaut.

“We’ve worked a great deal to automize a lot of what we do,” he said, highlighting that the Ford maintains a crew of 2,600 sailors – 600 fewer than its predecessors in the Nimitz-class.

State-of-the-art electromagnetic catapults and advanced arresting gear have been coupled with new structural designs – including a larger flight deck to improve aircraft maneuverability and a repositioned “island” (the tower where the captain sits) for better visibility.

These systems are expected to streamline flight operations and allow the Ford to launch 33% more aircraft than older carriers in the fleet – meaning it will be able to pack a bigger punch.

“The more bombs I get over the target area the more lethal I am,” said Commanding Officer Capt. Rick McCormack.

“Certainly we’ve taken a hard look at the technology,” said Capt. Gaut, McCormack’s second-in-command. “We are always trying to stay a step ahead of the adversary and I think we’ve done that with this carrier.”

Sailors spell out #USA with the American flag on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt in the Persian Gulf in late June 2015. When the Roosevelt leaves the Gulf sometime in October, the U.S. Navy will be without a carrier in the important region for two months.

A MV-22B Osprey, from Marine Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron 1, lifts off from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) on June 12, 2016. Click through the gallery to see other US aircraft carriers.

Tug boats maneuver the aircraft carrier Pre-Commissioning Unit Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) into the James River during the ship's turn ship evolution on June 11, 2016. This is a major milestone that brings the country's newest aircraft carrier another step closer to delivery and commissioning later this year.

The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) arrives at the U.S. Navy base in Yokosuka, a suburb of Tokyo, Japan, on October 1, 2015. The Reagan is the fifth U.S. carrier forward deployed to Japan following USS George Washington (CVN 73), USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63), USS Independence (CV 62) and USS Midway (CV 41), according to the Navy.

The aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) (Ike) transits through the Strait of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean Sea on June 13, 2016. Ike, the flagship of the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group, is conducting naval operations in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations. It could be used to support operations against ISIS in the Mideast.

A rainbow forms over the bow of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis as the ship steams in the Pacific Ocean on February 3, 2015.

U.S. aircraft carrier classes —

U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter (left) and Philippine Secretary of National Defense Voltaire Gazmin shake hands on a Marine Corps V-22 Osprey as they depart the the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) after touring the aircraft carrier as it sailed in the South China Sea on April 15, 2016.

A photo illustration of the U.S. Navy's Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy (CVN-79). The ship's keel laying ceremony was celebrated Saturday, August 22, 2015, in Newport News, Virginia. The ship is expected to replace the USS Nimitz (CVN-68), scheduled for inactivation in 2025, in the Navy fleet. The newest Kennedy will be the second carrier of that name. The first John F. Kennedy (CVA-67) was the last conventionally powered carrier. It was decommissioned in 2007.

The aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) passes under the Friendship Bridge while transiting the Suez Canal on Dec. 14, 2015. The ship is conducting operations in the Persian Gulf, where Iran claims to have taken footage of the carrier using a drone. Click through the gallery for more images of U.S. Navy aircraft carriers.

Aviation Structural Mechanic Airman V. Sek, assigned to the "Jolly Rogers" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 103, applies a Christmas decal to an F/A-18F Super Hornet in the hangar bay of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman in December 2015.

The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) is seen from inside its sister ship, the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), on August 7 off the coast of California as the two ships prepare for a "hull swap." Over 10 days in San Diego, much of the crew of each ship will transfer to the other. When completed, the Reagan will head to forward deployment in Japan, where the Washington had been. The Washington will head to Newport News, Virginia, for an overhaul.

Three Nimitz-class aircraft carriers USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), top, USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), center, and USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) are pierside at Naval Air Station North Island near San Diego on June 12, 2015. The Vinson has just recently returned from a 10-month deployment. The Reagan is preparing for a move to Japan later this year and the Stennis was making a port call after steaming from its homeport of Bremerton, Washington.

Sailors test the countermeasure washdown system on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) during sea trials prior to returning to its homeport at Naval Station Norfolk in late August 2015.

The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt departs Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, on Wednesday, March 11, for a scheduled deployment. The Nimitz-class carrier's departure was delayed for two days after marine growth clogged sea water intakes. Divers went into the 36-degree water to clean out the intakes and allow the ship to get under way. The cold water created a fog that made it seem the ship was in a cloud.

The USS Abraham Lincoln, a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, is seen near the coast of Indonesia in 2005. The carrier recently received a new anchor from the decommissioned USS Enterprise.

Lightning strikes over the flight deck of the USS John C. Stennis, another Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, as the ship moves through the Persian Gulf in 2007. All of the Navy's 10 active aircraft carriers are from the Nimitz class, which started in 1975 with the commission of the USS Nimitz.

The USS Ranger (CV-61) arrives at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in 1993. The Forrestal-class carrier, which featured in the movie "Top Gun," is to be scrapped this year.

In this photo released by the U.S. Navy, a tugboat works alongside the decommissioned aircraft carrier USS Saratoga on Thursday, August 21, in Newport, Rhode Island. The Navy has paid a Texas recycling company a penny to dispose of the Saratoga, part of the Forrestal-class of "supercarrier" vessels built for the Atomic Age. The carrier was decommissioned 20 years ago.

Aircrew members are lifted from the flight deck of the USS John F. Kennedy during an exercise in 2002. The ship, which was decommissioned in 2007, was the only member of its class.

An F/A-18 Hornet launches from the USS Enterprise in 2007. The Enterprise, the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, was decommissioned in 2012. Like the John F. Kennedy, it was the only ship built in its class.

The Kitty Hawk class was named for the USS Kitty Hawk, seen here departing Yokosuka, Japan, in 2008. At that time, the Kitty Hawk was the oldest carrier in the U.S. Navy and the only conventional-power aircraft carrier still in commission. It was decommissioned in 2009.

The USS Independence, a member of the Forrestal class that preceded the Kitty Hawk class, heads up the East River in New York in 1959.

Helicopters sit on the flight deck of the USS Saipan during the mid-1950s. The ship was one of two members of the Saipan class.

The USS Midway, namesake of the Midway class of aircraft carriers, floats off the coast of North Vietnam in 1972. It was named after the Battle of Midway, when U.S. forces held back a Japanese attempt to take the Pacific atoll in 1942.

The USS Princeton, part of the Independence class, moves off the coast of Seattle in 1944.

The Essex-class USS Franklin burns after being hit by a Japanese dive bomber in 1945. The ship was named after Benjamin Franklin and nicknamed "Big Ben."

The USS Wasp burns in the Coral Sea after being struck by three torpedoes from a Japanese submarine in 1942. The ship, the only one of its class, would ultimately sink because of the damage.

B-25 bombers sit on the deck of the USS Hornet in the Pacific Ocean in 1942. The Hornet, one of three carriers in the Yorktown class, was the ship that launched the bombers flown by Air Force Lt. Col. James Doolittle and his pilots during an air raid in Tokyo four months after the attack on Pearl Harbor. It also was involved in the Battle of Midway.

Navy personnel work on board the USS Ranger circa 1942. The Ranger was the first ship to be designed and built specifically as an aircraft carrier. It was the only ship in its class.

There have actually been two aircraft carriers named after the Revolutionary War's Battle of Saratoga. The first USS Saratoga, seen here moving toward San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge in 1945, was one of two members of the Lexington class of aircraft carriers.

The USS Langley, the Navy's first aircraft carrier and sole member of its class, steams off the coast of Baltimore in 1924.

US aircraft carriers

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The Navy has operated 10 carriers since the retirement of the USS Enterprise in 2012 – one fewer than the 11 carrier-force mandated by Congress in 2011.

The Navy was granted a waiver as it waited for the USS Gerald Ford to be completed.

The next carrier in the Ford class, the USS John F. Kennedy (CVN 79), is scheduled to launch in 2020. That ship was 50% complete as of July.

The third Ford-class carrier, the USS Enterprise (CVN 80), is set to begin construction in 2018.

A checkered past

The first of three Ford-class carriers ordered by the Navy – whose combined cost is expected be close to $42 billion – the USS Gerald Ford’s innovative features have been touted as one of its biggest assets but testing those unproven systems has, at times, yielded growing pains.

Early testing of the carrier’s electromagnetic catapult failed in 2015 – just one of several setbacks for a program that has been criticized by some lawmakers for a series of schedule delays and cost overruns.

A 2016 memo from Michael Gilmore, the Defense Department’s director of operational test and evaluation, said the most expensive warship in history continued to struggle launching and recovering aircraft, moving onboard munitions, conducting air traffic control and ship self-defense as recently as last year.

At the time, the Ford was already two years behind schedule and the memo’s release came just days before the Navy announced the carrier would not be ready before November 2016 as was previously promised.

The USS Gerald Ford docked at Naval Station Norfolk next to the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Sen. John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, slammed the latest delay as “unacceptable” and “entirely avoidable.”

President Donald Trump reaffirmed his commitment to increasing the Navy’s carrier fleet from 11 to 12 ships earlier this year during a speech aboard the USS Gerald Ford but just a few months later directly attacked the Ford’s electromagnetic catapult system in an interview with Time magazine.

“It sounded bad to me. Digital. They have digital. What is digital? And it’s very complicated, you have to be Albert Einstein to figure it out. And I said – and now they want to buy more aircraft carriers. I said, “What system are you going to be– “Sir, we’re staying with digital.” I said, “No you’re not. You going to goddamned steam, the digital costs hundreds of millions of dollars more money and it’s no good,” Trump said.

However, the carrier’s commander said he is confident in the new technology.

“It’s really about the envelope. It’s opening the envelope for future aircraft and future capabilities of the Navy and we’d otherwise be contained with a steam catapult system,” McCormack said.

“With all new technology there are risks,” he said. “But that’s why we’re here – to go out there and shake them down.”

Despite delays to the Ford’s delivery, the Navy said that the Ford-class carriers will yield a $4 billion reduction per ship cost as compared to its predecessor.

First of its kind

Despite the challenges that come with developing and testing a carrier that is first in its class, commanding officers touted the expertise demonstrated by the Ford’s crew members in operating its advanced systems.

“These sailors onboard are experts in the equipment … they are the ones who are testing and evaluating it for the future of Ford-class carriers,” said Command Master Chief Laura Nunley, the highest-ranking enlisted sailor on the carrier. “That alone brings a huge sense of ownership and I couldn’t be any prouder of the crew,” she said.

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Updated 6:38 PM EDT, Sat July 22, 2017

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$13 billion warship is first of its kind

01:40 - Source: CNN

Many of the crew members have been with the carrier since the earliest stages of development – supplementing a lack of experience out at sea with a deep breadth of knowledge about the new technology that is expected to set the standard for the future of the Ford-class.

“They’ve had to learn this stuff sometimes without a book,” Nunley said. “It’s not something that’s been proven so they’ve had to learn it from the beginning.”

The crew has also played a key role in helping many of the commanders get up to speed on the intricacies that differentiate the Ford from the Navy’s other carriers.

“It’s been a little bit of a fire hose to the mouth trying to absorb all the information I need to absorb, but it’s been an amazing experience,” said Gaut, who joined the ship nearly a month and a half ago and has never been part of the pre-commissioning process for another ship.

Gaut said he has leaned heavily on the crew’s understanding of the Ford’s advanced systems since coming aboard.

While the Ford’s commissioning ceremony represented a major milestone, the crew and commanding officers stressed that there is more work to be done to prepare the carrier for its first deployment.

The 1,100-foot USS Gerald Ford docked in Norfolk , Va ahead of its commissioning ceremony.

The Ford’s propulsion and basic systems were tested during a first round of sea trials in recent months, but one major remaining hurdle will be to test the carrier’s electromagnetic catapult’s ability to launch actual aircraft.

To date, the system has successfully launched “dead-loads,” which are sleds meant to simulate the weight of an aircraft, but the first tests using live planes won’t occur until sea trials scheduled to take place in the weeks after commissioning.

“The biggest challenge is to test the systems … in theory they are incredible, but we need to test them and make sure they do what they are supposed to do, which is allow us to put the ship in harm’s way and fight the fight,” said Gaut.

Following its commissioning, the Ford will now undergo months of additional testing to correct any remaining deficiencies and integrate the 75-plane air wing before its first deployment scheduled for 2020.