Navy’s Costly Carrier Finally Has Its Bomb-Lifting Elevators
- None of 11 elevators were installed on delivery in May 2017
- Operational patrols can now deploy, four and a half years late
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The Navy’s costliest warship finally has all the elevators needed to lift bombs from below its deck so it can deploy on its first operational patrol -- more than four and a half years after delivery.
The service has announced that the 11th and final Advanced Weapons Elevator is in place on the $13.3 billion USS Gerald R. Ford and the aircraft carrier is ready for training and operations.