--- title: "Shocking Images: America’s Newest Aircraft Carrier Endures Explosive Tests Off Florida (Updated)" description: "At one point, the Navy wanted to skip the critical tests in an attempt to get the USS Gerald R. Ford into service faster after years of delays." date: "2021-06-19" modified: "2021-06-20" authors: - name: "Tyler Rogoway" job_title: "Editor-in-Chief" link: "https://www.twz.com/authors/tyler-rogoway.md" url: "https://www.twz.com/41181/shocking-images-americas-newest-aircraft-carrier-endured-explosive-tests-off-florida" categories: - "Americas" - "Around The Globe" - "Carriers" - "Ford Class" - "Navies" - "News & Features" - "Sea" - "U.S. Homeland" - "U.S. Navy" - "USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78)" tags: - "aircraft carrier" - "CVN-78" - "Shock Trials" - "Supercarrier" - "Testing" - "USS Gerald R. Ford" --- # Shocking Images: America’s Newest Aircraft Carrier Endures Explosive Tests Off Florida (Updated) ![]() *www.twz.com* The day has finally come—the first in her class [USS *Gerald R. Ford* (CVN-78)]() has begun shock trials. The first explosive event occurred on the afternoon of June 18th, 2021, off the coast of Florida. The underwater blast registered 3.9 on the Richter Scale, which alerted many of us who watch for these types of events that the trials had begun. Full Ship Shock Trials (FSSTs) are a massive and potentially invasive test of how all of the ships' systems, as well as her crew, fare after large concussive blasts occur in close proximity to the ship. This includes everything from the hardiness of onboard computer systems to nuclear reactor elements to sensor systems to crew support elements. Nothing is left unexamined and the entire ship is specifically prepared for the trials with thousands of miles of cabling to support test equipment. The ships' crew has to be ready for [major damage]() and their ability to respond to that potentiality is part of the testing evolution. These types of trials are hugely important for a new class of ships, especially one as complex as the *Ford* class, because nearby explosions could come from careening anti-ship missiles, naval mines, torpedoes, or even other ships nearby that get struck by enemy weaponry. It also gives some insights into how the ship may fare during a successful attack. It's all about finding any weak spots and remediating them. Any issues can also impact the construction of future *Ford* carriers, [four of which are planned]() and three of which are deep under assembly at this time. ![message-editor%2F1624144056327-ussfordshocktrialexplosion.jpg]() **USN** The bottom line is that the ship needs to be able to take a nearby explosion and continue to fight. Shock trials help ensure that is the case. https://twitter.com/_/status/1406045691701510148 Shock trials were [potentially going to be delayed significantly]() for the *Ford* class, which is far behind schedule and over budget. Pushing the critical test evolution as far back as 2024, and using the second in class USS *John F. Kennedy* (CVN-79) to do it, was sought by the Navy in 2018. This would have seen *USS Gerald R.* *Ford* be put into service without these evaluations completed. Thankfully, not just for *Ford*, but also for her sister ships now under construction, this didn't end up being the case. Congressional leadership, namely John McCain, demanded the ship go through the standard testing before being certified for deployment. The last time trials like this were carried out on an American supercarrier was 34 years ago with the USS *Theodore Roosevelt* (CVN-71). https://twitter.com/_/status/962066840116649985 Hopefully, if the ship and her crew pass these trials, which usually consist of three explosions, without major issues, it will help speed her into an operational state. While [problems]() with a number of her systems [persist to some degree](), she has seen some [improvements]() as of late. By every indication, the Navy needs *Ford* available as soon as possible for operations as it [pushes its dwindled supercarrier fleet]() to the max. With all that being said, we don't know exactly how the test went as of yet, but we do have these incredible images to pore over: ![message-editor%2F1624143632634-210609-n-oh637-1001.jpg]() **USN** ![message-editor%2F1624143641962-210609-n-oh637-1056.jpg]() **USN** ![message-editor%2F1624143510589-210609-n-oh637-1003.jpg]() **USN** ![message-editor%2F1624143540150-210609-n-oh637-1005.jpg]() **USN** ![message-editor%2F1624143561799-210618-n-tl968-1002.jpg]() **USN** ![message-editor%2F1624143578904-210618-n-tl968-1223.jpg]() **USN** ![message-editor%2F1624143664149-210618-n-yw264-2154.jpg]() **USN** ![message-editor%2F1624143680063-210618-n-yw264-2165.jpg]() **USN** ![message-editor%2F1624143688265-210618-n-yw264-2191.jpg]() **USN** We will update this story with more information as it comes available. ***UPDATE:*** We now have video! https://youtube.com/embed/Qc-KC8RkREY *Contact the author: Tyler@thedrive.com* ## Author Tyler’s passion is the study of military technology, strategy, as well as foreign policy, and he has fostered a dominant voice on those topics in the defense and national security space. Tyler was the creator of the hugely popular defense site *Foxtrot Alpha* before developing *TWZ*, which he continues to lead as the Editor-In-Chief to this day. ### Author social links [Twitter]()