The late 1990s were times of extravagant dreams for the U.S. Navy, envisioning big-time. The vision was huge: to design a new generation of aircraft carriers to replace the aging Nimitz-class and entrench American naval dominance for the next few decades. The reward was the USS Gerald R. Ford, a floating fortress that was full of new technology that would transform naval warfare.
Commissioned to deploy more planes, carry more firepower, and run on a nuclear reactor that was three times more powerful electrically than its predecessors, the Ford was designed to save billions during its lifespan while projecting America’s predominance on the seas.
But the acrimonious reality of bringing so ambitious a vision into an operational battleship soon enough became clear. The Ford integrated 23 new technologies, from electromagnetic aircraft launching systems to high-tech weapons elevators, none of which had ever been tested on such a scale. As it would later become clear, combining those systems presented difficult logistical and operational challenges that pushed the limits of shipbuilding in the contemporary era.
The electromagnetic catapults were to replace steam systems, with reduced wear on the airplanes and more effective launching. The advanced arresting gear was to recover everything from the fighting airplanes through drones in a safe manner, and the new weapons elevators were to transport 20,000 pounds of ordnance along the ship at record velocities.
But with each innovation came turmoil. The EMALS and arresting gear repeatedly failed reliability tests, and weapons elevators routinely struggled with software and hardware issues, none of them operating fully at commissioning in 2017. It would be years of other fixes—sometimes while at sea—before the final elevator arrived with the crew in 2021. What followed was a phenomenal and flaky ship, a technological marvel that also pushed endurance and cost limits.
The cost to the company was prohibitive. Ford’s price rose from $10.5 billion to $13 billion, with more than $5 billion going into research and development alone. The building was plagued by constant delays as design changes cascaded into new issues, and the thousands of work orders’ items remained incomplete when the ship was commissioned.
Its political backlash was friendly, with open hearings and even a sarcastic comment from former President Donald Trump, who ridiculed the appearance of the carrier’s “island” command center and joked about the sophistication of its new technologies. Criticism notwithstanding, however, the Navy went ahead, conducted explosive shock trials, and slowly prepared the ship for operational deployment. By 2022, the Ford was nearly at full operating capacity, giving commanders some freedom and capabilities not available with previous carriers.
While the Ford was experiencing its own teething issues, other great powers were otherwise engaged building their carrier fleets. The advent of more nuclear-powered carriers with improved technology put the age of unopposed U.S. naval dominance as being over. This growth has stirred Washington debate regarding the future of such colossus carriers, namely, future long-range missile strikes and other developing anti-access techniques.
Military strategists have questioned whether or not such giant ships, whose colossus budgets are so astronomically expensive, even constitute the most cost-effective solution any longer, and others point to their unparalleled versatility and capability to base air operations out of basically any location in the ocean.
The Ford not only shattered the engineering envelope, but it also revolutionized the character of naval warfare. Carrier operations are evolving, with emerging platforms like the MQ-25 Stingray unmanned tanker drone extending air wing range and keeping carriers in the fight in an increasingly complicated maritime environment. The experiences gained with the building of the Ford have influenced later ships in the class, the John F. Kennedy, Enterprise, and Doris Miller, as cost overruns and delays tarnish the American shipbuilding process.
Ultimately, though, the tale of the USS Gerald R. Ford is one of ambition, innovation, and innovation coerced through need. It is a reminder that innovation beyond the realm of technology is of great reward, but also of great risk. The world’s most impressive carrier capability still belongs to the United States Navy, but the global maritime balance is shifting. The Ford may well be finally paying its dividends on the high seas, but the ultimate test will be how effectively it—and the overall Navy plan for carriers—can keep up with changing seas of naval power and emerging threats.