(ORDO NEWS) — After 14 years of development and construction, the most expensive and most problematic new generation aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), is finally ready.
The total cost of building an aircraft carrier was $13.3 billion, according to US Navy data as of the end of 2021. It’s sad that an aircraft carrier doesn’t cost much less than one of the most expensive scientific instruments, the James Webb Space Telescope.
The aircraft carrier was expected to be ready in 2017, eight years after construction began. The ship was laid down in 2009, which is longer than the usual five-year construction period for an aircraft carrier.
The Gerald R. Ford will carry more than 70 aircraft, including 40 to 50 F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, 5 EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft, 19 MH helicopters -60 Seahawk, 4 E-2D Hawkeye early warning aircraft, and 2 MV-22B Osprey cargo tiltrotor aircraft.
“Gerald R. Ford”, the first of the Ford-class aircraft carriers, which will eventually replace the existing
Nimitz-class aircraft carriers. It was designed with a new dual-band radar system and new electromagnetic aircraft launch catapults that would enable more sorties.
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