What you need to know: The Ford-class aircraft carrier, designed to be the future of U.S. naval airpower, is facing intense scrutiny for its durability and suitability for high-stakes combat.

-Although equipped with cutting-edge technology and immense firepower, the $13 billion ship has encountered reliability issues, including problems with its catapults, arresting equipment and radar.

-As anti-ship defenses advance, questions arise about whether such an invaluable asset should be risked.

-The Ford class is built to withstand severe damage, but it remains unclear whether the U.S. Navy and the American public are prepared for potential losses in a large-scale conflict, such as with China.

Ford-class carriers: built for war or too big to take risks?

The new Ford-class transporter is Invoice as the future of American naval air power. By gradually replacing the 50-year-old Nimitz class, the Ford class will soon become the US Navy’s primary supercarrier. But the first USS of its category Gerald R. Ford suffered from numerous reliability problems. And as anti-ship defense systems improve, the question arises: how durable will the Ford class be in war conditions?

Ford-class aircraft carrier: built for combat?

It’s hard to imagine a scenario in which the United States exposes its $13 billion supercarrier to enemy fire. Of course, the Ford class is explicitly designed for combat. But the Navy hasn’t put an aircraft carrier in an existential situation in decades — not really since World War II, when light aircraft carriers like the Essex class were made quickly and efficiently.

Today, American supercarriers are almost immeasurable ships of resources. The Ford class is loaded with thousands of sailors, around 100 planes (each costing around $60 million), the latest technology and a nuclear reactor.

The investment alone provides a significant deterrent to American war planners. And there is another element that causes hesitation: American expectations. Americans have no tolerance for large-scale loss of American life or property. That’s a good thing. But this low threshold of tolerance often conflicts with its self-imposed global policing mandate – a mandate for which the supercarrier is a vital instrument. The Americans would be shocked if one of their super aircraft carriers, carrying a few thousand sailors, went down. The political blowback would be immense. The will to continue the fight could collapse.

America has been waging a war of half-measures for decades in countries like Grenada, Panama, Somalia and Kosovo. America was able to get through this with minimal investment and without any disruption to the daily lives of ordinary Americans. Likewise, the forecast for casualties in these conflicts has fallen to almost zero. Iraq and Afghanistan represented larger investments in the American war, but not enough to bring an aircraft carrier into play.

A war with an adversary like China could be very different. Such a conflict could require directly endangering an aircraft carrier and its sailors. Is America ready for such a commitment? Does the Ford class?

Measure the Ford

American super carriers are hard to kill. The Navy couldn’t sink the USS America with torpedoes and missiles and instead had to rig the ship with explosives at critical structural points. The Ford is likely no different – ​​built to last and built to take a beating.

But the Ford had some problems. USS test FordCatapults, arresters and jet blast deflectors caused delays. The radar system also experienced problems. And tests suggested the ship posed significant electromagnetic interference and radiation risks.

Does all this tell us if the Ford can or cannot resist enemy fire? No, but whenever a system doesn’t work as expected, it becomes natural to wonder if another system might have the same problem.

About the Author: Harrison Kass, Defense Expert

Harrison Kass is a defense and national security writer with more than 1,000 total articles on issues related to world affairs. A lawyer, pilot, guitarist, and minor professional hockey player, Harrison joined the United States Air Force as a trainee pilot, but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MS from New York University. Harrison listens to Dokken.

Image credit: Creative Commons.