USS Gerald R. Ford Successes and Innovations (From CBS Radio “Eye on the World” with John Batchelor)

The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford arrived in port in Split, Croatia, on March 28, after a restock and repair call at Souda Bay, Greece, from March 23-26.  The Ford has been on deployment since leaving Norfolk on June 24, 2025, and her crew is on track to set a record for the longest aircraft carrier deployment since the Vietnam War.  John Batchelor and Gordon Chang initiated a discussion of Ford’s combat role in Operation Epic Fury, and how China’s navy stacks up against the U.S. Navy airwings.  Highlights below and full segment link here. 

John Batchelor: The constant needs of the President to continue attack against the Iranians and their allies – that would be North Korea, Moscow, and Beijing – requires the carriers on station to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And, the headline: “U.S. carrier that left Mideast over fire has other problems.”  So this is USS Gerald R. Ford pulling back from the theater.  A carrier as flashy as the Gerald R. Ford leaving theater generates questions.  Do we know what happened and what can be done?

Rebecca Grant:  If it were up to me, the headline would read: USS Gerald R. Ford pulls into port after incredibly successful combat mission, shooting down drones, and attacking targets in Iran. Now we also know there was a fire in the laundry spaces aboard.  It was contained, but it was serious enough to give smoke inhalation injuries to several sailors.  They made a wise decision to come back into port.  They would have needed to do this port call anyway, to restock and replenish.  They actually made a port call prior to the start of Operation Epic Fury.  As for the Ford, remember she came straight from combat operations around Venezuela, back to the Mediterranean, supporting air power up there, launching strikes from the Med across all that landmass and into Iran.  So, I think we’re going to hear some pretty impressive stories about Ford’s ability to sustain combat power.  Never forget: the Ford is an offensive weapons platform.

John Batchelor: Gordon, you have a question for Rebecca.

Gordon Chang: Rebecca, I’m going to ask you to guess a little bit here.  Because, as you point out, this was not the first combat operation for the Ford.  Is this laundry fire the result of sustained operations at sea, or is it because the Ford is new, and they didn’t see something in the laundry spaces when they designed and built her?

Rebecca Grant:  Great question, and there’s no question that the operational tempo has been high.  We’re going to have to wait for the accident report, on something as specific as a fire, to know what exactly caused it, and I’m sure the Navy will be all over that.  You know, I’m going to be interested to hear some other big numbers: how many sorties did they launch?  We know on one of their previous long deployments, the catapults launched over 10,000 aircraft over a several-month deployment. I suspect those numbers now for Ford’s new electromagnetic catapults are going to be up around the 15,000 mark, or very, very high, and I’m going to want to hear how some of their other innovations, like their weapons elevators and their on-deck refueling and electrical points, worked for the crew under combat situations.

John Batchelor: Rebecca, a colleague of ours, James Fannell, Captain U.S. Navy, intelligence officer, retired, answered me very straightforwardly when I asked him: Is the PLA Navy ready to match up against the U.S. Navy?  His answer was an immediate no.  No, it’s not.  I ask you the same question.  What is the thinking of the U.S. Navy about the fleet that China continues to build?  Is it adequate, is it comparable, is it peer-related, and especially, I’m concerned with the education of the sailors. It takes tradition and decades, years, maybe centuries, to develop an esprit and a navy that can handle the ships it’s given.  So, I’m also concerned about the education process in China.  They can make a lot of widgets, but can they use them? What is your thinking about our Navy versus the PLA navy?

Rebecca Grant: China’s Navy is a growing menace, and their effort to build aircraft carriers, including one that’s going to look a lot like the Ford, really shows us that.  Their Navy is larger in combat ships than the U.S. Navy.  But the U.S. Navy is very confident because of superior operational experience and tactics.  These are Admirals and senior officers at this point who have a great deal of experience of operations across the Middle East, numerous operational deployments, and a layered defense and a layered offense that goes with knowing how to really fight and employ a carrier. The carriers also rely on the joint force, whether that’s the Space Force or aerial refueling tankers, and this is an incredible art form and competency that our U.S. naval aviators have.  We also have a wonderful range of weapons, and a terrific range of aircraft, and there’s no question to me that U.S. Navy aircraft are superior.  They’re going to add, of course, the MQ-25 Stingray drone here soon, and hopefully their F/A-XX new stealth fighter here before long as well.  That makes the U.S. Navy air wings far superior to anything China can mount right now.

Gordon Chang: Rebecca, you mentioned the drones.  How advanced are our Navy drones right now? And in terms of aircraft, will we see unmanned aircraft regularly operate off our carriers? 

Rebecca Grant: Yes, very soon.  Navy drones start with the enormous MQ-4 Triton: wingspan 130 feet.  It’s a land-based high-altitude drone that can be up for more than 24 hours, does incredible maritime surveillance, and is a big part of the reason that we’ve got that exquisite, overwater watch. The Navy operates a number of other drones as well.  The one we’re really excited about is MQ-25 Stingray.  This will be a kind of almost-fighter-sized refueling drone that operates off the carrier deck with the carrier airwing, either to top off strike fighters with gas or to do surveillance work of their own.  And I expect to see the Navy using the Air Force-style collaborative combat aircraft down the road.  That’s a combat drone that flies along with you, to give you effects and weapons on a strike mission.

John Batchelor:  Back to the USS Gerald R. Ford.  As I recall, the launch system was always a bugaboo; they worked on it and worked on it, and they finally solved it.  Has that stood up in combat operations? 

Rebecca Grant: Yes, the EMALS, the electromagnetic launch, replacing steam catapults.  I’ve got to tell you this, the sailors that come back, they love this system. It’s far more sensitive. You can use it to launch lighter drones; you can launch every aircraft, rather than just slamming everybody down the way that the steam catapults did.  They also have different weapons elevators.  Here’s a number: the Nimitz-class carriers, 10,000 lbs. of bombs up in the elevator.  The Ford-class can take up to 24,000 lbs. onto the deck per load.  And it’s little things like this, moving the island farther back, so that you can put more planes in front of the islands in your deck configuration.  These are things that aviators really appreciate, and they increase the combat strike power off the deck of the USS Gerald R. Ford. 

Full link here.