Advanced Technology Aircraft Carrier Joins Up With NATO Allies,Partners

On 4 October 2022,the US Navy's newest aircraft carrier,USS Gerald R. Ford,named for the 38th president and US Navy veteran of World War II,departed Naval Station Norfolk,Virginia on its maiden deployment to the Atlantic Ocean.The carrier is notable for its advanced electromagnetic technology.This includes the Electromagnetic Launching System (EMALS),which replaces the traditional steam catapults,that will up the number of aircraft launches per day by 25%.There are also electromagnetic weapons elevators,which will increase the speed of missile and bomb transport up to the flight deck from the warship's magazine.* So the deployment is being made directly under the Chief of Naval Operations,Admiral Mike Gilday,rather than the customary combatant commander,to enable the Navy to better assess the significance of the dozens of improvements made by this advanced technology.Partcipating in the multinational deployment will be 20 ships ;9,000 military personnel from 9 NATO Allies and Partners;and 60 US Navy aircraft.Said the Ford commanding officer,Captain Paul Lunzilatta: USS Gerald R. Ford is going to sail to the high seas with our Partners.We want interoperability,we want interchangeability with our Partners.Our NATO Partners that are sailing with us-we're going to work with them every day,every night.That's what it means to operate on the high seas.Air defence exercises.Long-range maritime strike.We're going to do pretty much every mission that's in the portfolio for naval aviation,and we're excited about that.* The deployment will involve air,maritime and ground assets from several NATO Allies and Partners in order to strengthen deterrence and defence efforts and improve effectiveness and interoperability,the Navy said.The drills will also encompass anti-subsurface warfare and distributed maritime operations.NATO Allies and Partners participating in the deployment are:Canada,Denmark,Finland,France,Germany,the Netherlands,Spain, Sweden and the US.* The Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group,Carrier Strike Group 12 (CSG 12),includes Carrier Air Wing 8 (CVW 8);Destroyer Squadron 2 (DESRON 2);guided-missile cruiser USS Normandy (CG 60);Arleigh Burke-class destroyers USS Ramage (DDG 61),USS McFaul (DDG 74) and USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116);USNS Joshua Humphreys (T-AO-188);USNS Robert E. Perry (T-AKES);US Coast Guard Cutter Hamilton (WMSL 753);and a submarine.The late President Ford's daughter,Susan Ford Bales,is the new carrier's sponsor.Follow on members of the Gerald R. Ford-class include Pre-Commissioning Unit John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) and Pre-Commissioning Unit Enterprise (CVN 80).Lead contractor of the Ford-class is Huntington Ingalls Industries Newport News Shipbuilding (HII).*