The U.S. Navy kicked off a series of full ship shock trials on Friday to determine whether its Ford-class aircraft carrier could withstand harsh conditions that may arise in a battle mission.
USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) completed its first scheduled explosive event in the Atlantic Ocean and the Navy plans to use test data in shock hardness assessment, the Navy said Friday.
The FSST phase follows 18 months of the vessel's post-delivery testing period that saw crew members perform improvement and maintenance work onboard.
CVN 78, the lead ship of the Navy's Ford-class, is scheduled to enter a six-month planned incremental availability before the carrier reaches the operational employment stage.
Huntington Ingalls Industries' Newport News Shipbuilding division delivered CVN 78 to the Navy on May 31, 2017.
The branch conducts shock trials of its surface ships to comply with Office of the Chief of Naval Operations Instruction 9072.2 under the National Defense Authorization Act of 2016.