Tug boats maneuver Pre-Commissioning Unit Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), into the James River during the ship’s Turn Ship evolution on June 11, 2016. US Navy photo.
Forbes: The Most Expensive Ship In The World Is Broken. The U.S. Navy Secretary Should Be Held Accountable.
Later this month, tugs will pull the most expensive ship ever built in the world, the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), away from the Huntington Ingalls Industries shipyard in Virginia. But America’s brand-new, $13 billion aircraft carrier will emerge from a 15-month refit, or “post-shakedown availability,” broken and unable to fight. This is unacceptable, and it is high time for the Secretary of the Navy, Richard V. Spencer, to hold his service accountable.
But he can’t.
At the USS Ford, the extent of America’s massive systems engineering failure is impossible to understate. The aircraft carrier does not work. As of October 9, only two of eleven advanced weapons elevators actually function, making it impossible for the carrier to safely receive and store weapons. Compounding the problem, the Secretary of the Navy made a high-profile bet with President Donald J. Trump, that, if the USS Ford left the shipyard without functional elevators, the President could fire him.
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WNU editor: Government officials being held accountable for mistakes and incompetence within their departments is (unfortunately) a principle no longer practised by government.
