Photos Show the US Navy Setting off Explosions Near its New Supercarrier in Tests
Even if a hit isn’t direct the energy delivered can be catastrophic. So, the Navy is putting the USS Gerald R. Ford to the test.
Ford Class
Lawmakers rip apart the Navy’s new fighter budget
The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter can do a lot of things, but one thing it can’t do is double its combat range: That’s the challenge Navy aviation is facing as it shifts its sights away from ground support operations in uncontested airspace and toward near-peer level conflicts against technologically advanced opponents like China. Thanks to […]
America launches its newest aircraft carrier days after China’s new carrier hits their fleet
Earlier this week, China’s People’s Liberation Army-Navy received its second aircraft carrier — and the first that China built on its own. The announcement that China now has two operational aircraft carriers was seen by some as a dramatic uptick in China’s maritime capabilities. But as we’ve discussed on SOFREP before, the nation’s quickly growing […]
China’s second aircraft carrier enters service — Where do they stand compared to the US?
China’s People’s Liberation Army–Navy just reached a significant milestone in its efforts to develop a globally-capable “blue water” navy, as the nation’s second aircraft carrier entered service on Tuesday. China’s new carrier, dubbed the Shandong, is not only China’s first home-built vessel of its type, it also earns the nation a place in the elite […]
The Navy has a carrier problem… and they think the Marines may know how to fix it
The U.S. Marine Corps has recently been experimenting with using its America and Wasp class amphibious assault ships as smaller aircraft carriers that can launch sorties of short takeoff/vertical landing F-35Bs. Now, with the Navy struggling to keep its carrier fleet operational amid maintenance issues and the additional delays to the deployment of the USS […]
Here’s everything you need to know about the Marine Corps ‘Lightning Carrier’ concept
America has long relied on its fleet of Nimitz (and soon Ford) class super carriers to offer the nation’s defense apparatus its most potent form of force projection. With more than 60 aircraft and as many as 6,000 sailors on board, each carrier in the U.S. Navy’s stable is a force unto itself — but […]
Satellite images reveal China now has a Badass aircraft carrier ‘factory’
High resolution private satellite images gathered and analyzed by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) seems to suggest that China is rapidly expanding its aircraft carrier construction infrastructure in the area around the shipyard where they currently have one carrier in production. Based on the level of construction shown in pictures taken in […]
The US can launch F-35s from way more ships than you might think
The United States employs the largest and most powerful fleet of aircraft carriers in the world, composed largely of the 100,000-plus-ton Nimitz-class and soon adding advanced Ford-class vessels to the operational mix. These ships provide the nation with its most potent force projection capabilities, and along with their accompanying strike groups, each represent more firepower […]
America’s secret aircraft carriers: The US can launch F-35s from more ships than you think
The United States employs the largest and most powerful fleet of aircraft carriers in the world, composed largely of the 100,000-plus-ton Nimitz-class and soon adding advanced Ford-class vessels to the operational mix. These ships provide the nation with its most potent force projection capabilities, and along with their accompanying strike groups, each represent more firepower […]
Watch: US Navy’s newest carrier tests it’s electromagnetic catapult by flinging trucks into the ocean
Despite not being too far off from the ten Nimitz class carriers already employed by the Navy in terms of size, the USS Gerald R. Ford is a completely new design; America’s first in forty years. All of the changes are intended to improve the standard of living for those on board, enhance the carrier’s […]
If you think aircraft carriers seem huge from the flight deck, wait until you get a look underneath one
Prior to the introduction of America’s new Ford class of carriers, America’s fleet of Nimitz class vessels held the distinction of being the largest and most technologically advanced aircraft carriers on the planet. In fact, new and massive as the USS Gerald R. Ford may be, it still weighs just about the same as its […]
Get a sense of the incredible scale of America’s carriers with these pics of the USS Nimitz dry docked
Prior to the introduction of America’s new Ford class of carriers, America’s fleet of Nimitz class vessels held the distinction of being the largest and most technologically advanced aircraft carriers on the planet. In fact, new and massive as the USS Gerald R. Ford may be, it still weighs just about the same as its […]
