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What are carrier shock trials?
Shock Trials validate a ship’s shock hardness and ability to sustain operations in a simulated combat environment using live ordnance.
During shock trials, a small boat tows a 40,000-pound explosive behind it in the water. The Navy has marine mammal search teams ensuring that, though the times and locations of shock trials are planned around known migration patterns, no protected animals are in the vicinity.
Where did the navy bomb the ocean?
off
The massive explosive was set off underwater near USS Gerald R. Ford, the first of a new class of advanced aircraft carriers, in the Atlantic Ocean about 100 miles off the coast of Florida last Friday.
Why is the US Navy testing bombs near its new carrier?
The USS Gerald Ford plans to undergo such testing in 2021. The Navy will explode bombs near its new USS Ford aircraft carrier as soon as next year to assess the new platform’s ability to operate in high-threat, major-power warfare on the open seas.
They are called Shock Trials, a specific combat preparation exercise wherein Navy testers fire a wide range of weapons against or near the ship in a variety of different sea states. Service weapons testers will detonate a wide range of bombs, including a variety of underwater sea mines to assess the carrier’s ability to withstand enemy attacks.
Will the shock trials help or hurt the USS Ford?
Having Shock Trials as soon as next year is considered a major milestone as the ship nears its anticipated operational service several years from now. For instance, the Shock Trials may help move preparations along for the USS Ford, which has been experiencing some maintenance and technical delays.
What is the biggest threat to US aircraft carriers?
In a manner far more threatening than most previously known threats to Navy aircraft carriers, potential adversaries have in recent years been designing and testing weapons specifically engineered to destroy US carriers. One such threat is the Chinese built DF-21D “carrier killer” anti-ship missile.