USS Gerald R. Ford Completes Latest Round of Explosive Shock Trials
The U.S. Navy’s newest aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) has passed the second of three scheduled “shock trials”.
The latest Full Ship Shock Trials (FSST) test took place in the Atlantic Ocean on July 16th, on the fourth anniversary of the ship’s commissioning.
FSSTs are conducted on new ship designs to validate the “hardness” of the ship, designed to demonstrate the ship’s ability to withstand the effects of nearby underwater explosion and retain required capability. The trials use some 40,000 pounds of explosives, detonated in close proximity, to confirm that warships can continue to meet mission requirements under harsh conditions they might encounter in battle.
