by Tony Capaccio (Bloomberg) The US Navy’s costliest vessel ever just got pricer, breaching a $12.9 billion cap set by Congress by $120 million, the service told lawmakers this week. The extra money for the U.S.S. Gerald R. Ford built by Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. is needed to replace faulty propulsion components damaged in a January failure, extend the vessel’s … [Read more...]
China’s 1st New Aircraft Carrier To Start Sea Trials
by Ben Blanchard (Reuters) China first domestically developed aircraft carrier looks set to begin sea trials after pictures appeared on the Chinese internet on Monday of it leaving its dock in the northeastern port of Dalian. The still-unnamed carrier was launched this time last year but since then has been undergoing fitting of weapons and other systems and has … [Read more...]
US Navy Deploys A 3rd Carrier To The Pacific
By Anthony Capaccio (Bloomberg) The U.S. Navy has three aircraft carriers and their assorted missile-carrying vessels operating in or deploying to the western Pacific Ocean for the first time since 2011 as tensions with North Korea remain high and President Donald Trump prepares to depart for Asia next week. The milestone neared as the USS Nimitz and its strike group … [Read more...]
U.S. Navy’s New $13 Billion Aircraft Carrier Struggles to Fly and Land Planes
By Tony Capaccio (Bloomberg) -- The newest and costliest U.S. aircraft carrier, praised by President Donald Trump and delivered to the Navy on May 31 with fanfare, has been dogged by trouble with fundamentals: launching jets from its deck and catching them when they land. Now, it turns out that the system used to capture jets landing on the USS Gerald R. Ford ballooned in … [Read more...]
Pentagon Orders Review of Troubled New Carrier
by Anthony Capaccio (Bloomberg) The Pentagon’s top weapons buyer has ordered an independent review of the $12.9 billion Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier, citing a list of actual and potential deficiencies with the costliest warship ever. “With the benefit of hindsight, it was clearly premature to include so many unproven technologies” on the vessel, from those … [Read more...]