The world’s largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), named after the 38th president of the United States, set sail for the eastern Mediterranean. On Sunday, the day after Hamas’ attack on Israel, the US Secretary of Defense ordered Hamas to drop anchor off the Israeli coast. This important measure is a warning to countries, Syria or Iran, that would be tempted to launch an offensive against Israel to open another front.
This nuclear-powered aircraft carrier does not have much distance left to reach its objective. With its imposing group of aircraft carriers it was in Turkey in August and then, at the beginning of October, in the Ionian Sea, south of the Adriatic. The USS Gerald R. Ford was scheduled to stop in Marseille for several days.
A giant of 13,000 million dollars
It is an authentic mobile military base capable of facing the most aggressive situations even at distances of several hundred kilometers. The figures speak for themselves: 112,000 tons, 333 meters long compared to the 262 meters of the Charles de Gaulle, which is the largest aircraft carrier in Europe. It travels at a speed of 30 knots, or 55.6 km/h, compared to 27 knots (50 km/h) for the Charles de Gaulle.
To build this marine giant, the US Navy spared no expense. This program was launched in 2008 with a budget of 13 billion dollars. Inaugurated in 2017 by donald trump The then president, after a two-year delay in delivery, carried out his first operational mission just a year ago.
The USS Gerald Ford is deployed to “demonstrate its incomparable lethal capabilities in all areas,” said Admiral Daryl Caudle, commander of the US naval forces, on the occasion of this first deployment.
338 catapults per day
It is almost a floating city with a crew of 4,600 sailors, almost three times the crew of the Charles De Gaulle. It has capacity for 75 combat aircraft that can take off in record time from a flight deck of 20,000 square meters or 3 football fields.
To take off, the planes use a magnetic catapult that propels them to a speed of 260 km/h. This technology, developed by General Atomics, will equip the new generation aircraft carrier (PA-NG) that will succeed the Charles De Gaulle in 2040. The particularity of this technology is to carry out 338 catapults every day, both from combat aircraft and combat aircraft. . the F-35, or light drones.
Like all aircraft carriers, it does not move without a significant navy. His is at the top of her power. Around 1,500 sailors are distributed in a fleet in charge of guaranteeing their protection: a guided missile cruiser, four destroyers, four frigates and at least one nuclear attack submarine (SNA).
Source: BFM TV
