The Pentagon’s planned shock tests of the Navy’s newest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), could cause its first deployment to be delayed up to two years, a Navy official said on Thursday.
As a result, it will take longer for the Navy to build up to its congressionally-mandated requirement of 11 carriers, Rear Adm. Jeffrey A. Harley, the assistant deputy chief of naval operations for operations, plans and strategy (OPNAV N3/5B), told reporters after a House Armed Services Committee readiness subcommitee hearing. The delay could also impact the service’s plans to return to deploying two carriers at a time while having three others ready to surge.
“The addition of the shock trials is modifying the deployment schedule. As it stands now, there is a significant delay in being able to deploy the Gerald R. Ford,” he said. “We are reviewing ways in which we can mitigate the deployment schedule and the presence requirements.”
U.S. Fleet Forces Command is analyzing how the service can use 10 carriers to meet its needs for that period of time, and options include producing less forward presence in a given year or modifying the deployment schedule to ensure presence is continuous, he said. “It is a few years away, so we do have the ability to see how this process unfolds.”
Pentagon acquisition chief Frank Kendall sent an August memo directing the Navy to conduct shock tests on the Ford, Bloomberg News reported last month. The Navy had wanted to conduct shock tests on the second ship of the Ford-class, the USS John F. Kennedy (CVN-80), because of delays in producing the Ford.
During a shock test, the Navy detonates underwater explosive charge near an operational ship and evaluates the effects to the ship’s systems and components.
The service doesn’t know exactly how much of a delay to expect as a result of the shock trials—it will depend on what breaks down and needs repairs after the testing, Capt. Thom Burke, director of fleet readiness (N43), said after the hearing. Defense Department officials in August said the addition of shock trials would add at least half a year before the Ford could make its first deployment.
Outgoing Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert wants to achieve a surge capacity of three carriers by 2020. “We’re looking at different methodologies by which we would achieve that,” but the shock trials would have a “significant impact,” Harley said. “Clearly, having 11 carriers sooner enables that accomplishment somewhat sooner.”
Huntington Ingalls Industries [HII] Newport News Shipbuilding is building the Ford, which scheduled to be delivered to the Navy in 2016.