U.S. President Donald Trump departs aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford in July 2017. Photographer: Petty Officer 3rd Class Matthew Fairchild/U.S. Navy
Bloomberg: Navy Presses Mattis to Delay ‘Shock Testing’ Costliest Carrier
* Decision pits push to add carriers against key resilience test
* Pentagon tester cites need to know if systems work in combat
U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is weighing a Navy request to delay for at least six years the shock testing intended to determine how well its new $12.9 billion aircraft carrier could withstand attack.
The decision pits the Navy’s push to have an 11-carrier fleet ready to deploy as soon as possible against warnings from the Pentagon’s testing office that the USS Gerald R. Ford shouldn’t be deployed for initial combat duty until it’s gone through the tests, which involve setting off underwater charges to check the resilience of a ship’s key systems.
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WNU Editor: My red flags are waving.
More News On The U.S. Navy Not Wanting To Conduct 'Shock Trials' For Its Newest Aircraft Carrier
Shock Trials or No, the Navy's Newest Supercarrier Is Still an Unreliable Debacle -- The Drive
U.S. Navy Seeks to Postpone Shock Trials for USS Ford -- Maritime Executive
US Navy Wants to Skip ‘Shock Testing’ of New Aircraft Carrier, Pentagon Protests -- Sputnik
