{"id":18781,"date":"2019-03-07T02:11:39","date_gmt":"2019-03-07T02:11:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/03\/07\/why-the-once-maligned-flattop-ford-is-finally-getting-a-lift-or-11\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:15:05","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:15:05","slug":"why-the-once-maligned-flattop-ford-is-finally-getting-a-lift-or-11","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2019\/03\/07\/why-the-once-maligned-flattop-ford-is-finally-getting-a-lift-or-11\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the once-maligned flattop Ford is finally getting a lift (or 11)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">NEWPORT NEWS, Va. \u2014 Seven months into the <a href=\"https:\/\/thefordclass.com\/\" target=_blank>aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford<\/a>\u2019s yearlong stay at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.huntingtoningalls.com\/\" target=_blank>Huntington Ingalls Shipyard<\/a> here, the flattop has received its second <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navy.mil\/submit\/display.asp?story_id=108332\" target=_blank>Advanced Weapons Elevators<\/a>, a critical component for moving ordnance to the flight deck and hiking the rate of fighter sorties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two down and nine more to go, with Pentagon officials still predicting that all of the elevators will be running by the time the flattop leaves the yard this summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWorking on USS Gerald R. Ford\u2019s advanced weapons elevators has been the most amazing experience since reporting here in 2013,\u201d said Machinist\u2019s Mate 2nd Class Shameka Judene, a Georgia native who\u2019s spent six of her nine years in the Navy helping to build the Ford.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cTo be able to watch the elevators transform from a shell into the most technologically advanced weapons elevators is something to marvel. It\u2019s been a truly rewarding experience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sailors weren\u2019t always so optimistic about the Ford.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Loaded with high technology, the first in its class of flattops came with a big price tag \u2014 $13 billion \u2014 and critics wondering whether it would ever meet its promised operating capability due to snafus with the Ford\u2019s innovative electronic catapult, arresting gear and elevators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Once its fully outfitted, however, designers expect the Ford to generate up to to 25 percent more combat sorties than Nimitz-class carriers can handle, a potentially crucial edge over enemy fleets.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2019\/01\/24\/once-beleaguered-by-critics-the-ford-gets-a-lift\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/190116-N-ON468-1005.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Once beleaguered by critics, the Ford gets a lift<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford just got closer to becoming a fully operational flattop.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And that\u2019s why the yard and the flattop\u2019s crew has worked so hard to get the elevators humming. The lifts are expected to ferry 24,000 pounds of ordnance at a rate of 150 feet per minute from the ship\u2019s magazines to the flight decks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Using hydraulic cable and pulleys, Nimitz-class elevators top out at 10,500 pounds and move weapons at only 100 feet per minute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAll of us are learning on brand new systems and brand new concepts,&#8221; said Cmdr. Joe Thompson, the Ford\u2019s weapons officer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;This acceptance gives us the opportunity to have that \u2018run time\u2019 on the physical aspects of the elevator, but also in evaluating the technical manuals, and learning the maintenance required to keep them operational.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Doubling the number of elevators doubled the amount of training the Weapons Department crew can do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis is going to allow us to progress faster,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cAs we get smarter on one, we move on to the next and apply the lessons learned not only with regard to elevator operation, but also in the testing and certification and maintenance processes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2019\/02\/06\/a-fighting-ford-prepares-to-join-the-fleet\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/DSC_6921.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">A fighting Ford prepares to join the fleet<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The Navy\u2019s top officer says the troubles plaguing the Navy\u2019s newest flattop have been solved and he expects that it soon will terrorize foes and fascinate friends.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Accepted in January, Elevator 1 totes ordnance from the ship\u2019s forward weapons handling area up to the flight deck. Upper Stage 3, the new lift, is located in the carrier\u2019s aft weapons handling area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Once fully installed, the Ford\u2019s system will eliminate the need for a Nimitz-class carrier\u2019s \u201cbomb farm,\u201d where weapons are staged on mess decks and in the hangar bay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFrom a weapons safety perspective, this is a huge advantage,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cWe have two dedicated locations that are not on the flight deck or in the hangar bay that have 24-7 overhead sprinkler coverage and the ability to jettison in the case of an emergency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;To have these locations that allows us to operate without interfering with flight operations or in the hangar bay makes our ship that much safer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Ford\u2019s skipper, Capt. John J. Cummings, said the combined crew of shipyard and Navy personnel working to certify the new elevators already have shaved 10 days off scheduled delivery of the elevators and he expects the fast rate to continue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThese are the most technologically unique elevators in the world, and we are going to need to find innovative methods to get the remaining nine elevators delivered this year,&#8221; Cummings said. \u201cOur Weapons Department sailors are hungry to operate these elevators so we can start developing procedures to maximize the flow of ordnance from our magazines to the flight deck.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Navy officials say they are finding &#8220;efficiencies&#8221; and reducing &#8220;redundancies&#8221; in how they are building, testing and certifying their new Advanced Weapons Elevators, raising hopes that all eleven will be up and running by the time the ship heads back to sea later this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":40922,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":65,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,23,88,12,26,65],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3087],"class_list":["post-18781","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-left-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-your-navy"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"X5HOTZ25QNEF3G5XNJFYOK65KY","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-navy\/2019\/03\/07\/why-the-once-maligned-flattop-ford-is-finally-getting-a-lift-or-11\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Why the once-maligned flattop Ford is finally getting a lift (or 11) - Navy Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Navy officials say they are finding &quot;efficiencies&quot; and reducing &quot;redundancies&quot; in how they are building, testing and certifying their new Advanced Weapons Elevators, raising hopes that all eleven will be up and running by the time the ship heads back to sea later this year.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why the once-maligned flattop Ford is finally getting a lift (or 11)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Navy officials say they are finding &quot;efficiencies&quot; and reducing &quot;redundancies&quot; in how they are building, testing and certifying their new Advanced Weapons Elevators, raising hopes that all eleven will be up and running by the time the ship heads back to sea later this year.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2019\/03\/07\/why-the-once-maligned-flattop-ford-is-finally-getting-a-lift-or-11\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Navy Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-03-07T02:11:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T19:15:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mark D. 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