US Navy USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier toward another major milestone during WOO 10.

USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) aircraft carrier of U.S. Navy recently progressed toward another major milestone during the ship’s 10th window of opportunity for maintenance (WOO) 10, ensuring mission readiness for its upcoming independent steaming event (ISE).
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The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), with personnel from Huntington Ingalls Industries-Newport News Shipbuilding Division, conducts a weighted inclining experiment at Naval Station Norfolk, April 16, 2020. (Picture source U.S. Navy)

While in port for Ford’s WOO 10, the ship accomplished necessary maintenance and construction projects required to embark personnel from Carrier Air Wing EIGHT (CVW-8) and Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 12 staffs. Ford’s next independent steaming event, ISE 10, will be the most robust air wing and strike group embark to date, bringing total ship’s company to more than 3,700 personnel.

Ford, CSG-12 and CVW-8 utilized WOO 10 as a launch pad for integrated operations for the upcoming at-sea period. CSG-12, with experience from their recent record-breaking deployment with USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) and CVW-7, sent CVW-7 operations and intelligence officers to assess Ford's ready rooms and mission planning spaces to provide recommendations on how to best execute command and control (C2) with Ford's unique capabilities.

During ISE 10, CSG-12 will assess Ford’s C2 capability and CVW-8 will operate over 30 fixed-wing aircraft and MH-60R/S Seahawk detachments from both Helicopter Sea Combat (HSC) squadrons and Helicopter Maritime Strike (HSM) squadrons.

In an exhaustive and collaborative effort to finish more than 125 offices and berthing spaces for 199 air wing officers and strike group staff, Ford Sailors with support from Huntington Ingalls Industries Newport News Shipbuilding Division, Naval Sea Systems Command, and Technico completed outstanding work of 625 lines of testing to include ventilation balancing, phone hookup and minor amenities installs.

The U.S. Navy Gerald R. Ford-class is a class of aircraft carriers being built to replace USS Enterprise (CVN-65) and eventually the United States Navy's existing Nimitz-class carriers. The lead ship, Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), was commissioned in 2017. The Gerald R. Ford-class will be the premier forward asset for crisis response and early decisive striking power in a major combat operation. Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers and carrier strike groups will provide the core capabilities of forward presence, deterrence, sea control, power projection, maritime security and humanitarian assistance.

The Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier is able of carrying up to 90 aircraft, including the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, F / A-18E / F Super Hornet, E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft, MH-60R / S helicopters, as well as unmanned air and combat vehicles.