The US Navy fixed the propulsion problems on its $13 billion supercarrier, but the ship still has se

https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2019/08/14/the-us-navy-fixed-the-propulsion-problems-on-its-13-billion-supercarrier-but-the-ship-still-has-serious-issues/

The US Navy fixed the propulsion problems on its $13 billion supercarrier, but the ship still has serious issues

By: Ryan Pickrell, Business Insider    1 day ago

Shipbuilders and sailors have fixed the propulsion plant problems on the USS Gerald R. Ford, the first of a new class of supercarriers that is behind schedule, over budget, and still struggling with development issues.

Work on the ship’s propulsion plant was completed toward the end of July, the Navy announced in a statement Monday.

Problems with the carrier’s propulsion system first popped up in January of last year during sea trials. A “manufacturing defect” was identified as the problem. Troubles were again noted in May just three days after the ship set sail for testing and evaluation, forcing it to return to its home port early.

In March, James Geurts, the Navy’s acquisition boss, told US lawmakers that scheduled maintenance on the Ford would require another three months beyond what was initially planned to deal with problems with its nuclear power plant, weapons elevators, and other unspecified areas.

The Navy said that the “Ford’s propulsion issues weren’t with the nuclear reactors themselves, rather the issues resided in the mechanical components associated in turning steam created by the nuclear plant into spinning screws that propel the ship through the water.”

While the completion of the work on the Ford’s power plant moves the ship closer to returning to sea, the carrier is still having problems with a critical piece of new technology — the advanced weapons elevators. The elevators are necessary for the movement of munitions to the flight deck, increased aircraft sortie rates, and greater lethality, but only a handful of the elevators are expected to work by the time the ship is returned to the fleet this fall.

Lawmakers recently expressed frustration with the Navy’s handling of the Ford-class carrier program.
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