Navy Full Court Press on USS Gerald R. Ford Weapons Elevators

WASHINGTON
— The U.S. Navy is leveraging the talent of an independent team of government
and outside experts to assist in advanced electromagnetic, production and
software technology aboard USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), said Research,
Development and Acquisition Public Affairs in a July 1 release.

“We have a
full court press on the advanced weapons elevators,” said the Honorable James
Geurts, assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and
acquisition. “We’ve gathered a team of experts on the carrier right now, which
will work with the shipbuilder to get Ford’s weapons elevators completed in the
most efficient timeline possible — they will also recommend new design changes
that can improve elevator activities for the rest of the Ford class.

“This team
of experts in electromagnetic systems, fabrication and production control,
software, systems integration, and electrical engineering will focus on
completing the production of the remaining elevators on CVN 78 and recommending
design changes for future ships in the class. In doing so, they will execute
corrective actions and adapt best practices to ensure the completion of the
Advanced Weapons Elevators in support of the USS Gerald R. Ford’s operations.”

Arriving
on the carrier two weeks ago, the Navy-led team has quickly formed a linked and
integrated approach between the shipbuilder, the government, Ford crew and
industry experts. The team is comprised of specialists in their respective
fields and many have had a number of successes at solving developmental
technological challenges.

AWE, as a
first-of-its-kind developmental system, has had its share of production and
technological challenges. 

The AWEs are
operated via electromagnetic, linear synchronous motors.  This new technology increases both speed and
weapons carrying capacity of the platform while reducing required manning,
maintenance and total ownership cost. Due to the concurrent nature of AWE
development and construction, the shipboard weapons elevators have been test
beds for discovering developmental issues that have delayed the scheduled
turnover to the crew.

For those
elevators working on Ford, the ship’s weapons department has been training on
them daily.

“The two
upper stage elevators have absolutely operated as designed,” said Lt. Cmdr.
Chabonnie Alexander, Ford’s ordnance handling officer. “We operate the
elevators 10 times a day, five days a week, and Ship’s Force subject matter experts
continue to get smarter and more comfortable each day with the system and its
operating capabilities. Additionally, as we become more comfortable and more
proficient with the elevators we’re also becoming better able to anticipate and
diagnose any technical issues that may arise.”

Ford
elevators will allow the ship to be able to move up to 24,000 pounds of
ordnance at 150 feet-per-minute. This is in contrast to the 10,500 pounds at up
to 100 feet-per-minute on a Nimitz-class carrier. AWE contributes to a 33%
improvement in sortie generation rate over the Nimitz-Class, which is the heart
of Ford-class warfighting capability.

In
parallel with standing up the team of Navy-led government and industry experts,
the Navy is constructing a land based test site at Naval Surface Warfare Center
Division Philadelphia, and contracted for the production, test and delivery of
system components to complete the site in 2020. The Navy and shipbuilder are
also completing a digital twin co-located at the shipyard facility in Newport
News that will be complete in fall 2019. Both systems will allow the Navy and
shipbuilder to mature the system and aid in troubleshooting.

These
shore efforts combined with the collective team of experts aboard Ford will
bring these elevators online making the Ford-class more lethal and efficient,
while also providing it with the ability to implement future advancements in
technology with relative ease.