The Pentagon was interested in knowing if a brand new warship in their fleet called the USS Gerald R. Ford was able to take a hit during a battle at sea, so they tried to create a simulation that would give them the answer.
The Navy fired thousands of pounds of explosives at the ship, which in turn created a huge blast that was equivalent to a 3.9 magnitude earthquake.
This is the first time the Navy has conducted a full-ship shock trial to test a ship at sea on over 30 years.
By the way, it went well. The Navy sent out a tweet that said “the leadership and crew demonstrated #NavyReadiness fighting through the show, proving our warship can ‘take a hit’ and continue our mission on the cutting edge of #navalAviation.”
The Navy is walking a very fine line as they do the shock test. On one thing they need an accurate measurement of how battle-ready the vessel is. On the other hand, they canter ally afford to damage or destroy a ship that cost $13.3 billion to build!
After passing the test, the Ford is heading back to Newport News where it will have prepares done and some “modernization maintenance” done on it.
It should be ready to sail in 2024.
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