Aircraft takeoff and landing systems on the USS Gerald R. Ford remain unreliable and break down too often more than three years after the $13.2 billion carrier was delivered, according to the Pentagon’s top tester.
The latest assessment of the costliest warship ever built "remains consistent” with previous years, director of testing Robert Behler said in his new summary of the program, obtained by Bloomberg News before its release in an annual report.
"Poor or unknown reliability of new technology systems critical for flight operations,” including its $3.5 billion electromagnetic launch system and "Advanced Arresting Gear," could "adversely affect” the carrier’s ability to generate sorties, he said.