Navy quietly declares aircraft carrier Ford operational
It's a major event for the Navy's high-profile warship, and it happened silently in December.
By JUSTIN KATZ
on April 05, 2022 at 3:18 PM
SEA AIR SPACE 2022: The Navy in December quietly determined the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) had achieved initial operational capability, the program manager for the ship revealed today.
The milestone was officially reached on Dec. 22, 2021, when the last advanced weapons elevator was turned over, Capt. Brian Metcalf, the ship’s program manager, told attendees at the Sea Air Space exposition.
Initial operational capability is an important acquisition milestone that indicates the ship’s capabilities have reached the minimum thresholds required to be operationally useful. In other words, the super carrier that has plagued the Navy with cost overruns and schedule delays for more than a decade now, is finally at a state where the service can use it in a real-world operation.
https://breakingdefense.com/2022/04/navy-quietly-declares-aircraft-carrier-ford-operational/
