Video: USS Ford undergoes explosive shock trial
Underwater blast intended to evaluate how well carrier survives severe vibration.
By Marc Allen
The United States Navy has conducted the first shock trial of the first-in-class carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford. It is the first time since 1987 that the navy has carried out shock trials on a carrier — the last carrier to be thus tested was the USS Theodore Roosevelt.
The navy says the dramatic trial allows it to evaluate the new carrier’s resilience to severe close-quarter vibration. According to the United States Geological Survey, the blast was large enough to register 3.9 on the Richter scale.
In a statement, the navy said: “Ford’s shock trials are being conducted off the East Coast of the United States, within a narrow schedule that complies with environmental mitigation requirements, respecting known migration patterns of marine life in the test area.
“The Navy also has employed extensive protocols throughout FSST [Full Ship Shock Trials] to ensure the safety of military and civilian personnel participating in the testing evolution.”
