US Navy gives its most expensive aircraft carrier a shock test

The United States Navy undertook shock trials for its new aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R Ford, off the East Coast of the United States.

<p>USS Gerald Ford, the newest and most advanced aircraft carrier in the US Navy, was hit with the blast about 100 miles off the Florida coast. The US Geological Survey registered the blast as a 3.9 magnitude earthquake. <em>Photograph: US Navy</em></p>

USS Gerald Ford, the newest and most advanced aircraft carrier in the US Navy, was hit with the blast about 100 miles off the Florida coast. The US Geological Survey registered the blast as a 3.9 magnitude earthquake. Photograph: US Navy

<p>The shock trials provided data that will be used to validate the hardness of the ship and its ability to withstand battle conditions. <em>Photograph: US Navy</em></p>

The shock trials provided data that will be used to validate the hardness of the ship and its ability to withstand battle conditions. Photograph: US Navy

<p>According to the US Navy, the shock test was done within a narrow schedule that complied with environmental mitigation requirements, respecting known migration patterns of marine life in the test area. <em>Photograph: US Navy</em></p>

According to the US Navy, the shock test was done within a narrow schedule that complied with environmental mitigation requirements, respecting known migration patterns of marine life in the test area. Photograph: US Navy

<p>At $13.3 billion, USS Gerald R Ford is easily the most expensive warship ever built.<em> Photograph: US Navy</em></p>

At $13.3 billion, USS Gerald R Ford is easily the most expensive warship ever built. Photograph: US Navy

<p>The aircraft carrier is engineered to support new technologies and a modern air wing essential to deterring and defeating near-peer adversaries in a complex maritime environment. <em>Photograph: US Navy</em></p>

The aircraft carrier is engineered to support new technologies and a modern air wing essential to deterring and defeating near-peer adversaries in a complex maritime environment. Photograph: US Navy

<p>The last US aircraft carrier to execute a full ship shock trial was USS Theodore Roosevelt in 1987. <em>Photograph: US Navy</em></p>

The last US aircraft carrier to execute a full ship shock trial was USS Theodore Roosevelt in 1987. Photograph: US Navy