[Epoch Times, October 6, 2022](The Epoch Times reporter Li Yan comprehensive report) The US Navy’s most advanced and powerful new generation aircraft carrier “Ford” on Tuesday (October 4) from Norfolk, Virginia (Norfolk) set sail for NATO for its first deployment to hone in and conduct exercises with allies in North America and Europe.
The USS Gerald Ford is the first new aircraft carrier to be designed “in more than four decades,” according to the U.S. Navy. Construction of the aircraft carrier officially began in November 2009, and its delivery was witnessed by former President Donald Trump in 2017.
The ship was the first “Ford-class” aircraft carrier. The Navy is already working on the next two Ford-class aircraft carriers, the USS Kennedy and the USS Enterprise.
“Ford” is the most powerful new-generation aircraft carrier today. Last year, it successfully completed the first full-ship impact test off the coast of Florida.
According to the Navy, the carrier has advanced new technologies, including “nearly three times the power” compared to Nimitz-class carriers, and the use of electromagnetic launch systems (EMALS).
The EMALS system uses electricity to launch the aircraft from the ship, rather than the steam catapult system as before. A Navy official said the new system would put less stress on the aircraft when launching from a carrier and could shorten the time between launches.
The carrier also has a more advanced dual-frequency radar system. Currently, it is the only forward-class carrier with such a radar, the official said.
In recent years, the United States has intensified its focus on the North Atlantic after the Russian military stepped up its operations at a rate not seen since the end of the Cold War. The first deployment of the USS Ford comes seven months into the war over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Reuters reported that Russia has escalated the situation through annexation actions that are not recognized by Ukraine, the United States and Europe, military mobilization and threats of possible use of nuclear weapons.
Putin has signed a law formally incorporating the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions into Russia, state-run TASS news agency reported on Wednesday morning. territory. These four regions make up about 18% of Ukraine’s territory.
The USS Gerald Ford will operate with allies and partners in the Second and Sixth Fleet areas of responsibility in the Atlantic and Mediterranean. Vice Admiral Daniel Dwyer, commander of the Second Fleet, said the deployment, which is a “reservation dependent deployment” (service retention deployment), will be shorter than the standard deployment time of six months.
USS Ford’s Carrier Strike Group 12 (CSG 12), Carrier Air Wing 8 (CVW 8), and Destroyer Squadron 2 (DESRON 2) will join allied and partner navies across the Atlantic fight.
“This deployment is an opportunity to push the ball farther and demonstrate the ‘Ford’ and ‘Carrier Air Wing 8’ brings advantages to the future of naval aviation, to the region, and to our allies and partners.”
The deployment will involve “approximately 9,000 personnel, 20 ships and 60 aircraft from nine countries”. Countries participating in the exercise include the United States, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden, a U.S. Navy press release said.
The 12th Carrier Strike Group includes 17 ships and 1 submarine. Other ships set off on Wednesday to join the Ford, which set sail on Tuesday, a second Navy official said.
The Ford is also currently the largest aircraft carrier in the world, directly replacing the previous No. 1 Nimitz-class aircraft carrier with a full displacement of 100,000 long tons (101,600 metric tons).
Responsible editor: Lin Yan#