The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) has pledged to keep a close eye on US navy efforts to fix the advanced weapons elevators on the first Ford-class aircraft carrier (CVN-78).
Sen James Inhofe, an Oklahoma Republican, said that while the navy told him that technical problems with all 11 elevators would be resolved by September, he has asked the service to give him monthly updates on the issue until the $13 billionUSS Gerald R Ford is fully operational.
Inhofe said he wants to avoid further delays for CVN-78. Built by Huntington Ingalls Industries’