The USS Gerald R. Ford may not be ready to deploy until 2024, a Navy official said Tuesday during a Capitol Hill hearing. The carrier was originally set to deploy in 2018. The delay has been blamed mostly on technology development, according to USNI News.
Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Va.) criticized the delay and called the Ford a “$13-billion nuclear-powered floating berthing barge.”
Navy Secretary Richard Spencer said Wednesday that Luria and other critical lawmakers are not being helpful.
“We need everyone to realize that these are massively complex systems,” he said, according to Stars and Stripes. “Did we do things wrong? Yes, we did things wrong. We put a price cap on there.”
U.S. Navy photo of Rep. Elaine Luria on USS Gerald R. Ford by Seaman Zachary Melvin
HASC Floats Sites in Virginia, Alaska, New Mexico for Space Launches
The House Armed Services Committee’s draft National Defense Authorization Act raises concerns about whether Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida and Vandenberg Space Force Base, California can accommodate an expected growth in commercial and military space...
