The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) successfully completed the Full Ship Shock Trials confirming the ship’s shock hardness and the ability to sustain operations in a simulated combat environment where artillery is used.

The explosive event was conducted by the US Navy off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida on 8th of August.

The Full Ship Shock Trials are conducted in order to confirm that new ship designs that use live explosives can continue to meet stringent mission criteria in the face of potentially hostile combat conditions.

During the four-month trials, the aircraft carrier resisted the impact of three 40,000-pound underwater blasts released at distances that were progressively positioned closer to the ship.

Capt. Brian Metcalf, manager for the Navy’s future aircraft carrier program office said: “The Navy designed the Ford-class carrier using advanced computer modeling methods, testing, and analysis to ensure the ships are hardened to withstand harsh battle conditions,”

The ship will now be returned to the Tidewater area for a six-month Planned Incremental Availability (PIA). Once the PIA begins, special teams will conduct additional tests and inspections, assessing any damage the ship sustained and continue modernization and maintenance work in advance of workups for the ship’s planned deployment in 2022.