Serious Fire Damage

Although the contract didn’t indicate what this was covering, it is almost certainly related to the damage caused in a fire that broke out on CVN-78’s laundry facility in March while the supercarrier was deployed in the Red Sea in support of Operation Epic Fury.

According to a statement from U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/U.S. 5th Fleet posted on social media a day after the incident, the fire “originated in the ship’s main laundry space,” and was not “combat-related.”

The post added that the fire caused no damage to the ship’s propulsion plant, and USS Gerald R. Ford remained fully operational. Two sailors received medical treatment for non-life-threatening injuries. However, in the weeks that followed, the extent of the fire was determined to be far more severe.

The blaze began in a dryer ventilation in one of the ship’s laundry facilities and quickly spread. It took more than 30 hours to be contained, and resulted in smoke damage that impacted around 100 sleeping berths on the supercarrier.

A video obtained by CNN earlier this month showed the extent of the damage to the affected sleeping quarters, including soot and debris throughout the compartment. CNN also reported that the carrier’s fire-suppression system did not function as intended, which explains why it took so long to contain, as crew members had to manually respond.

Temporary Repairs Already Made

Days after the fire, CVN-78 transited the Suez Canal. It sailed to Souda Bay, Crete, where Forward Deployed Regional Maintenance Center personnel, including structural engineers, naval architects, and other subject matter experts, conducted an initial repair assessment. The USS Gerald R. Ford then headed to the Lora Naval Base in Split, Croatia, for emergency repairs.

It isn’t clear how much those repairs had cost.

The damage wasn’t significant enough that the deployment ended, and after the repairs were made and fresh bunks were flown in from the United States to replace those damaged in the fire, CVN-78 returned to the Red Sea to support U.S. operations.

It was only after the 10th and final Nimitz-class supercarrier, the USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77), arrived in the region that the U.S. Navy finally ordered the USS Gerald R. Ford back home to Norfolk.

Additional Improvements Still Needed on CVN-78

The USS Gerald R. Ford is often described as the U.S. Navy’s most advanced and capable aircraft carrier, as she is outfitted with advanced technology including the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System, Advanced Weapons Elevators, Advanced Arresting Gear and upgraded nuclear reactors that are meant to eliminate the need for the costly multi-year refueling and complex overhaul at the 25-year mark of service.

Moreover, CVN-78’s automation systems allow the supercarrier to operate with 20 to 25% fewer personnel than the Nimitz-class carriers.

Yet, the lead vessel of a new class of nuclear-powered flattops was too far along in its initial construction to receive modifications to operate with the fifth-generation Lockheed Martin F-35C Lightning II.

CVN-78’s upgrades are now scheduled for a future extended Planned Incremental Availability, the scheduled maintenance period for a naval warship, particularly aircraft carriers, during which the vessel undergoes extensive repairs, overhauls, and modernization.

This will be a significant upgrade that will include the installation of new classified workspaces that are dedicated to processing the F-35’s highly sensitive, data-rich mission system. The warship will further need enhanced server capabilities along with a fiber-optic network that can handle the additional terabytes of mission data for the stealth aircraft.

Physical deck upgrades are also required, which will include the installation of more robust Jet Blast Deflectors to withstand the intense heat produced by the F-35C’s engines. Specialized maintenance infrastructure to service and repair the multirole fighters will have to be built.

However, these issues will not impact future carriers.

The U.S. Navy actually opted to delay the delivery and commissioning of the second and third Gerald R. Ford-class vessels, future USS John F. Kennedy (CVN-79) and the future USS Enterprise (CVN-80), to allow the modifications to be made during the construction phase.

Flushing Money Down The Sewage System

One advanced system that the USS Gerald R. Ford has been equipped with is its vacuum sewage system, which reportedly clogged repeatedly during the extended deployment. That has required the U.S. Navy to rely on controversial $400,000 acid flushes, which can only be performed at certain ports, including Norfolk, to clear the pipes.

The U.S. Navy announced that CVN-78 would receive a Vacuum Collection, Holding, and Transfer system improvement similar to the one employed on CVN-77. That is expected to subdivide the system to reduce maintenance issues, but that is another major and unplanned upgrade that could further sideline the flattop.

It is unclear when CVN-78’s F-35 and toilet system refits will be completed, as the U.S. Navy struggles to balance real-world mission needs with essential ship time. Both deployments of USS Gerald R. Ford were extended as the service lacks the carriers to dispatch to the global hotspots.

The downside of this strategy has been that it takes more of a toll on the warships in terms of wear and tear, and that sidelines them for longer periods. That’s also without needing to deal unexpected issues like the potentially devastating fire!