Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, in a letter to the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the department believes the U.S. Navy should not delay shock-testing of its $13 billion USS Gerald R. Ford carrier, Bloomberg reported Thursday.
“We agree with your view that a test in normal sequence is more prudent and pragmatic,†Shanahan told SASC Chairman John McCain (R-Arizona).
The Navy previously asked Defense Secretary James Mattis to postpone the USS Ford’s shock trials for at least six years in a push to accelerate deployment of the supercarrier in combat duty and maintain an 11-carrier fleet.
Huntington Ingalls Industries‘ Newport News Shipbuilding division built and delivered the first-of-class carrier to the service branch after it completed acceptance trials in May of last year.
The report said a shock test would help the Navy to determine if the ship can withstand underwater charges and mitigate any potential vulnerabilities.