How Did the World's Most Powerful Warship End Up With No Return Date?

The USS Gerald R. Ford, commissioned in 2017 at a cost of roughly $13 billion, is the most advanced warship ever built, powered by two new-generation A1B nuclear reactors and armed with EMALS, the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System that replaced 70 years of steam catapult technology. Getting there wasn't easy. In June 2015, EMALS failed publicly in front of Navy VIPs and reporters, one of years of reliability problems that dogged the ship. Flight deck operations remain one of the most dangerous jobs in the world, and this video covers real incidents aboard the Ford, the USS Ronald Reagan, and the USS Carl Vinson. In 2025 and 2026, the Ford proved its design, completing a 326-day deployment, the longest for a US carrier since the Vietnam War. It came home to Norfolk Naval Shipyard for repairs the Navy has declined to publicly schedule. Quick facts: — Cost: roughly $13 billion — Reactors: two A1B nuclear reactors, ~3x the power of a Nimitz-class carrier — Crew: approximately 4,500, including air wing — Longest deployment: 326 days (June 2025–May 2026), surpassing the USS Abraham Lincoln's 295-day 2020 deployment Watch next: How Do 4,000 People Survive Working in Rock Hot Enough to Kill Them?    • How Do 4,000 People Survive Working in Roc...   Subscribe to The Uncharted Engineering for more machines and discoveries that broke what anyone thought was possible. #USSGeraldRFord #AircraftCarrier #USNavy