U.S. Media: The "Ford" Aircraft Carrier Exposes Numerous Technical and Support Issues

On March 24, Xinhua News Agency reported from Washington that the U.S. Navy's largest aircraft carrier, the USS Ford, was forced to withdraw from the Middle East theater due to a fire in the ship's laundry room and arrived at the port of Crete, Greece, on the 23rd for repairs. Bloomberg reported on the 24th that this incident has exposed many long-standing technical and support issues with this class of aircraft carrier.

The USS Ford, which began service in 2017, is the lead ship of the U.S. Navy's latest generation of Ford-class nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. Bloomberg stated that the latest assessment report from the U.S. Department of Defense's testing agency shows that this class of aircraft carrier still has many uncertainties regarding "combat effectiveness" and "system reliability." Key areas, including the aircraft launch and recovery systems, radar systems, resilience against strikes, and the lift equipment for transferring munitions to the flight deck, lack sufficient real combat testing data.

The report pointed out that due to the lack of comprehensive real combat testing, there is not enough data to determine the combat effectiveness of the Ford-class aircraft carrier. This means it is currently unclear what the USS Ford's actual capabilities are in detecting, tracking, or intercepting enemy aircraft, anti-ship missiles, or small attack aircraft. Additionally, it is impossible to ascertain how its various systems will perform under the high-intensity pressure of continuous takeoffs and landings during wartime.

Furthermore, the report also noted that the USS Ford has issues with insufficient berthing space to accommodate all crew members, stating that this shortage "will affect the quality of life on board."

Since June of last year, the USS Ford has been continuously deployed at sea for about nine months, participating in U.S. military operations against Venezuela and Iran. On March 12, a fire broke out in the laundry room at the stern of the USS Ford, injuring three sailors, while over 200 sailors received treatment for smoke inhalation. The fire also caused damage to multiple compartments of the aircraft carrier and destroyed a significant number of berths.

Bloomberg pointed out in its report that this incident highlights that, as the Trump administration attempts to achieve its geopolitical goals in Iran and Venezuela through "gunboat diplomacy," even the U.S. Navy, equipped with the most advanced gear, is under significant pressure.