US Navy aircraft carrier Gerald R Ford has successfully withstood an underwater detonation test test of 20 tons of explosives, which observers say could effectively reduce the threat posed by China’s “carrier killer” missiles .
The US Navy said in a press release on Monday that the third and final full ship shock test of America’s latest and most advanced nuclear carrier was completed off the coast of Florida on Sunday, following previous such tests on June 18 and July 16. To. Service officials described the shock test test – where the Navy detonates 40,000 pounds of ordnance in water near the hull to test both the ship and its systems – as a success, no major injuries, no fire. And no flooding, USNI News, the news portal of the US Naval Institute, reported.
“We had zero catastrophic failures on the ship, zero situations where we had floods or anything, and zero fires. It’s all very important,” Ford’s commanding officer, Captain Paul Lanzilotta, told reporters on Monday.
It is perhaps the most eagerly-watched test by China as since 2015 the Chinese military has been touting its DF-21D and DF-26 missiles as “carrier killers” to shoot down aircraft carriers from a range of 5,000 km. can.
In tests conducted off the Florida coast in the Atlantic Ocean, 40,000 lbs (20 tonnes) of explosive – the equivalent of a 3.9-magnitude earthquake – was detonated underwater each time it got close to the carrier. Data on the impact on the vessel was collected.
Brian Metcalf, manager of the Navy’s Future Aircraft Carrier Program Office, said, “The tests demonstrated – and proved quite dramatically to the crew – that the ship would be able to withstand formidable aftershocks and continue to operate in extreme conditions. Will keep.”
“Aside from data collection, another reason for announcing this was to send a message to China and Russia that US aircraft carriers have super resilience and are not concerned about Chinese or Russian conventional anti-ship weapons,” commentators and Former Chinese military instructor Song Zhongping said.
“The 40,000 lbs explosive detonation was much larger than any single weapon of a conventional missile or torpedo,” Song told the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post.
He said the test proved that the Ford-class aircraft carrier could withstand some water mines or near-missile attacks, but did not show its resistance against direct hits.
“Ballistic missiles or hypersonic missiles can also carry electromagnetic pulse warheads that detonate at altitude and damage an aircraft carrier, or even take it out of combat entirely,” he said. ” They said.
The shock trial is designed to test the ship’s shock durability and ability to sustain operations in a simulated combat environment.
The Post report said minor damage assessments and repairs to the USS Gerald R Ford will be carried out during planned maintenance ahead of scheduled deployment next year.
Full ship shock tests were last conducted in 2016 on two coastal combat ships. The last aircraft carrier to undergo such testing was the USS Theodore Roosevelt in 1987.
According to military officials, the DF-26 can deliver precise nuclear or conventional strikes against ground and naval targets. As the “cold war” with China has deepened in recent years, particularly with the US entry into the disputed South China Sea, effectively challenging China’s claims of sovereignty, the US Navy It is insisting that it maintain its dominance in the face of competition from the Chinese Navy. Shipbuilding spree.
A US government document in June outlined plans to maintain a fleet of 321 and 372 manned ships.
As of 2020, the Chinese Navy had 360 ships and the US Navy 297. However, the US had much larger ships, with two aircraft carriers from China, and 92 cruisers and destroyers against the PLA’s 33, as well as being more powerful in armament. As per Post report.
The shock trial is expected to provide highly valuable data for the mass production of Ford-class aircraft carriers – America’s first major aircraft carrier investment since the 1960s.
The report says China has developed the “aircraft carrier killer” DF-21D and DF-26 – anti-ship ballistic missiles that reportedly can travel thousands of kilometers simultaneously in the South China Sea in a test last August. Was being
Russia is also testing a hypersonic anti-ship cruise missile, Zircon, which can reach a maximum speed of Mach 9. It hit a ground target in a test last month.
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