US Navy completes final weapons elevator on aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford
By Megan Eckstein
Thursday, Dec 23
This story was updated on Dec. 23 at 2:25p.m. to include a statement from Sen. Jim Inhofe.
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy tested and certified the last of 11 Advanced Weapons Elevators on aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford, after that system threw a wrench into final construction, testing and training of the first-in-class ship.
The weapons elevators transport massive munitions from the depths of the ship up to the hangar bay and to the flight deck, where fighter jets can be armed before missions. AWE is one of 23 brand-new technologies developed for the Ford-class carriers, several of which lagged in development or saw delays during testing — ultimately pushing the ship’s planned maiden deployment from 2018 to the currently projected late 2022.
AWE was the last of these new technologies to be fixed. To avoid further delays, the Navy allowed the crew and air wing to start training on the ship in spring 2020, conducting post-delivery tests and trials and eventually conducting shock trials over the summer of 2021. Throughout this time, contractors have worked on the elevators both while the ship was in port and while it was operating at sea, completing one elevator after the next and turning them over to the crew to begin using in operations.
https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2021/12/23/us-navy-completes-final-weapons-elevator-on-aircraft-carrier-gerald-r-ford/
