The United States announced Sunday that it would provide military assistance to its Israeli ally, which was attacked by Hamas on Saturday. This leads to the shipment of ammunition and in particular the deployment of their aircraft carrier USS (US ship) Gerald Ford in the Eastern Mediterranean. As a symbol and demonstration of power, it is the largest military ship in the world. And the most expensive. Explanations.
Also read: Hamas attack on Israel: Fighting continues, death toll rises. Follow our live
13 billion dollars
The aircraft carrier USS Gerald Ford sends the switches into panic mode. With a length of 332 meters, 70 meters longer than the Charles-de-Gaulle, it weighs 100,000 tons and can reach a speed of around 50 km/h. The nuclear-powered building was inaugurated by then-President Donald Trump in 2017 with a two-year delivery delay. Construction began in 2009 and the total cost is $13 billion.
The USS Gerald Ford is deployed “demonstrating his unmatched lethal capabilities in all areas,” assured Admiral Daryl Caudle, commander of the American naval force, in October 2022.
Also read: REPORTING. Landing on the largest aircraft carrier in the world
Up to 75 planes and helicopters
The giant offers space for 75 military aircraft and helicopters. Its flight deck has an area of 20,000 square meters, or three football fields, indicated as TF1, which was ready to board in November 2022.
The building does not use the traditional hydraulic system to catapult planes to takeoff, but rather an induction motor that creates less friction with the metal of the planes and therefore allows them to last longer, AFP reported in 2022, as the building took part in maneuvers with allied countries took part including France and Canada. A technology developed by General Atomics for the US Navy.
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The USS Gerald Ford can accommodate 75 aircraft and helicopters. | THIERRY CREUX / ARCHIVE WEST FRANCE View in full screen mode
The USS Gerald Ford can accommodate 75 aircraft and helicopters. | THIERRY CREUX / ARCHIVE WEST FRANCE
“In a fraction of a second, the catapult makes any movement of the body impossible. Breathing only resumes when you are in the air. Eighty meters were necessary. Ten times less than on a conventional route,” reported a journalist from Ouest-France, who was also able to briefly board the ship in November 2022 while the ship was off the coast of Brittany.
Protected against electromagnetic radiation
The ship’s configuration and its power generation are intended to allow it to adapt to new weapons, such as directed energy weapons, following new types of weapons such as electromagnetic radiation, laser weapons or microwave weapons, again according to AFP.
It is also equipped with huge elevators to bring missiles and bombs onto the deck for loading onto aircraft.
A floating city
To operate such a machine, you need men and women. According to TF1, the USS Gerald Ford is a real floating city with 4,600 crew members on board and 15,000 meals delivered per day.
The Gerald Ford-class aircraft carriers, named after the 38th President of the United States, are intended to replace the Nimitz-class aircraft carriers, which are reaching the end of their 50-year service life. The Kennedy, based on the same model, is currently under construction.
As a reminder, by 2038 France must also equip itself with a new nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, 300 meters long and displacing 75,000 tons, one and a half times more impressive than the current Charles de Gaulle it replaces.