U.S.S. Gerald R. Ford Commissioned Today

Well yeah, but you can undertake aerial refueling with your drop tanks as well. An F-18 without it's drop tanks isn't considered "fully loaded". Besides...guess what carrier launched refueling aircraft carry all that fuel in.

Fine MAoHS, fine.

I'm sure they'll get it all ironed out in short order. It'll just make the price tag that much higher is all.

With all due respect, you have no idea what you're talking about.

- A US Navy Aircraft Carrier Veteran and Aficionado

These two things don't necessarily contradict each other.

Just as a point of record, no ship is deployment-ready on commission day. The Somerset, which I commissioned in March 2014, didn't deploy until October of 2016, which was right on schedule for a ship of its class.

Likely, this date was already approved by SECNAV well ahead of the election.

Well, they are when ensuring dominance implies fighting wars, such as the several that the US has been involved in or started in the recent past.

The Ford will require around 600 fewer sailors in the crew which is expected to save around 4 billion dollars over the 50 year life of the carrier.

Trump used the event to hustle for people to phone their senators/congresspeeps to push his agenda. Not cool.

Also, gushed about the ship when he's slagged off the tech onboard in the past, saying they should go with conventional steam catapults rather than the EM units as they work and are cheaper.

yes Rick the US military can be (and should be) managed better, but at the same time when you are a major player on the world stage your military must be dominant - it's not an option, full stop.

If Ireland gets attacked by a similar lightweight country of comparable size and ability and gets in over it's head, Ireland's heavyweight allies can bail them out. When you already are a heavyweight country who can save you?

We own eleven of the world's 21 commissioned carriers. No other Navy owns more than two and the largest of which is about the size of our largest amphibious ships.

And we absolutely do police much of the world. I'm all for having the rest of the world bolster up their Navies if it means less work for the rest of us.

The U.S.S. Gerald R. Ford successfully launched and recovered an F/A-18 yesterday using the new electromagnetic catapult to launch the aircraft and the new arresting gear system to recover it.

We have more than 11 aircraft carriers. We have the Wasp and America class amphibious assault ships, each of which is larger than the "fleet carriers" of most other navies. We technically have 20+ actual bona fide aircraft carriers.

Dayton, this is exactly the kind of post you would have written.

What exactly do you disagree with?

It's the autism.

I miss the steam! It had... atmosphere.

I don't consider the amphibious assault ships like Wasp and America to be aircraft carriers despite having flight decks and being large as World War Two era carriers (and as large as the small carriers from some countries) because they are not primarily tasked with operating conventional fixed wing (non STO/VL) combat aircraft.

Is that clear?

^^And why do you disagree with that Rick Deckard?^^

I had to check to make sure this wasn't a NotDayton post

Why? The U.S. Navy doesn't consider ships such as the current U.S.S. Wasp and U.S.S. America "aircraft carriers" so why should anyone else?

Clear, yes.

Wrong, also yes.

The U.S. Navy does not consider them "aircraft carriers".

Is the USN wrong as well?

No. YOU are wrong.

You have no idea what the US Navy considers them to be. Compared to my knowledge of the US Navy, both academically and experientially, you're a toddler.

If that's your definition of an aircraft carrier, then what is UK's new Queen Elisabeth class ship?

Bingo. Their role has changed and is changing. The USN has shifted them to become multi-mission capable strike groups with the emphasis on strike. They even changed the name to "Expeditionary Strike Group" and they're defended (escorted) as well as a Carrier Strike Group (CSG).

If, by some miracle, the F35 boondoggle ever works out, they'll really be a force to be reckoned with.

Oh, that is easy. It is a floating barge with no aircraft.