You’ve seen the headlines. $13 billion "floating mistake." Or maybe the opposite—a high-tech marvel that makes every other navy look like they're playing with bath toys. Honestly, the truth about the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) is somewhere in the messy middle. It isn't just another boat; it's a massive, 100,000-ton experiment that finally started paying off, but not without some serious growing pains that would make any project manager wake up in a cold sweat.
Building a first-in-class supercarrier is basically like trying to build a city that flies and fights, except you’re inventing half the tools as you go.
The Sortie Generation Obsession
Most people think "bigger is better" with carriers. Not really. It’s about how many planes you can get into the air before the enemy knows you’re there. The Navy calls this the Sortie Generation Rate (SGR). For the USS Gerald R. Ford, the goal was a 33% increase over the old Nimitz-class. We’re talking about 160 sorties a day normally, and upwards of 270 during a "surge."
To do that, they had to move the "island"—the tower on the deck—further aft. This opened up a ton of space for a "pit stop" refueling and rearming strategy. Think of it like a NASCAR pit crew for F/A-18 Super Hornets. Instead of shuffling planes around like a sliding puzzle, the Ford’s deck is designed for a one-way flow.
📖 Related: How Do I Chat With Facebook Support: What Most People Get Wrong
Why Steam is Dead (Mostly)
For fifty years, we used steam to catapult planes. It worked, but it was violent. Steam hits the plane with a massive "kick" at the start, which eventually shakes the airframes to pieces. The USS Gerald R. Ford swapped that for EMALS—the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System. It’s basically a railgun for jets.
It’s smoother. You can launch heavy fighters or tiny, lightweight drones without snapping the nose gear off. Plus, it doesn’t need a massive plumbing system of high-pressure steam pipes running through the ship. But man, did it have issues. In 2017, the failure rate was nine times higher than it was supposed to be. If the magnets don't talk to the software, nobody flies. Kinda stressful when you're in the middle of the ocean.
The $13 Billion Price Tag Reality
The cost of the USS Gerald R. Ford is the part that usually gets the politicians screaming. It ended up costing roughly $13.2 billion. That’s about 23% over the original estimate. Why? Because the Navy decided to shove 23 brand-new technologies onto one ship at the same time.
Normally, you’d test a few new things on one ship, then a few more on the next. With the Ford, they went all in. The Advanced Weapons Elevators (AWE) used "maglev" technology—magnets instead of cables—to move bombs to the deck. They didn’t actually work when the ship was delivered. The crew had to spend years fixing them while the ship was already commissioned.
- Nimitz-class power: 100 Megawatts.
- Ford-class power: 300 Megawatts.
- Crew size: Roughly 600–700 fewer sailors than a Nimitz.
- The "Toilet" Issue: Even the plumbing was new, using a vacuum system that reportedly cost $400,000 to acid-flush when it got clogged.
Life on the World’s Biggest Warship
If you’re a sailor, the USS Gerald R. Ford is a major upgrade. The Navy finally got rid of those massive 180-person berthing areas where everyone is stacked like cordwood. The Ford uses smaller rooms. It’s quieter. There’s better AC. They even installed "gender-neutral" bathrooms (meaning no urinals), which was actually a huge controversy for a while, though most of the crew just cares if the gym is open and the Wi-Fi works in the port calls.
✨ Don't miss: Legion Slim 5 Gen 8 Explained: Why It's Still the Laptop to Beat
The reactors, two Bechtel A1B plants, are the heart of it all. They produce three times the electricity of the older ships. This isn't just for the catapults; it’s for the future. The Navy wants to put lasers and railguns on this thing. You can’t do that on a Nimitz because you’d blow a fuse the second you fired a high-energy weapon. The Ford is basically a giant battery waiting for the weapons of 2035 to be finished.
What's Happening Now?
As of late 2025 and heading into 2026, the USS Gerald R. Ford has moved past the "experimental" phase. It spent a huge chunk of time in the Mediterranean and more recently has been operating in the Caribbean under U.S. Southern Command. It’s being used as a massive "keep out" sign for regional tensions.
It’s easy to criticize the delays, but you have to look at the "lead ship" syndrome. The second ship, the USS John F. Kennedy (CVN-79), is already benefiting from the Ford’s mistakes. They’re building it faster and, hopefully, a billion dollars cheaper.
The real test isn't a spreadsheet; it's how many days the ship can stay at sea without a major system failure. The reliability numbers for EMALS and the arresting gear (AAG) are finally trending toward "reliable," but the Navy is still collecting data to prove it can handle a high-intensity war.
✨ Don't miss: Trailer Plug Wiring Diagram: Why Your Lights Keep Flickering and How to Fix It
Actionable Insights for Naval Enthusiasts
- Track the Deployment: Follow the USNI News Fleet Tracker to see where the Ford is currently stationed; its presence usually signals a shift in U.S. foreign policy.
- Watch the CVN-79 Progress: Keep an eye on the sea trials for the John F. Kennedy. If it avoids the "elevator drama" of the Ford, it proves the class is finally stable.
- Don't Buy the "Sinking" Myths: Ignore the clickbait about carriers being "obsolete" due to missiles. The Ford’s new dual-band radar and self-defense suites (like the ESSM and RAM) are specifically designed to counter those high-speed threats.
The USS Gerald R. Ford represents a shift in how the U.S. projects power. It’s no longer just about the size of the deck; it’s about the juice running through the wires. It took a decade longer than it should have, but the "smart carrier" is finally doing the job it was built for.