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US Navy commissions Gerald R Ford

24th July 2017 - 14:30 GMT | by Shephard News Team

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The US Navy has commissioned its newest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), at Naval Station Norfolk on 22 July.

USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) is the lead ship of the new Gerald R. Ford class of aircraft carrier, and will begin the phased replacement of Nimitz class carriers following its commission.

The US Navy plans to build the three ships in the class, also to include the future USS John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) and USS Enterprise (CVN 80). The vessels are being built with new technologies that are expected to improve operational availability and capability compared with Nimitz class carriers.

Built by Huntington Ingalls Industries, new technologies includes a new reactor plant, propulsion system, electric plant, Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System, Advanced Arresting Gear, machinery control, Dual Band Radar and integrated warfare systems.