The U.S. Navy announced on Friday that the newest nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) successfully completed the Combat Systems Qualification Test (CSSQT) on April 17, a collaborative effort by sailors aboard the ship.
Defense-Blog reported that the test, which began in February, was divided into five phases, with the final phase including a simulated interception by a high-speed drone, as if in actual combat.
I’m proud of our sailors on board for their outstanding performance,” said USS Ford Captain Paul Lanzilotta. CSSQT was a combat-like exercise that proved this up-and-coming ship is capable of defending itself. If the enemy opens fire on our ship, we will be able to defend it effectively.”
Larry Daugherty, an officer who participated in the CSSQT test of the Ford, said that during the test, the Ford faced an incoming rocket-propelled drone with top speed of more than 600 mph (965.61 km/h), which is about the same speed as an actual anti-ship missile.
The ship’s crew immediately operated the Ford’s various advanced defense systems, which
including the RIM-116 Ram Missile (RAM, formerly known as the Rolling Body Missile)
and the RIM-162 Advanced Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM);
and the Mk-15 Phalanx Close-In Weapon System (CIWS).
These are the Ford’s 3 heavy protection weapons.
The RIM-116 “Ramsar” missile. (Photo/USN)
ESSM Advanced Sea Sparrow missile. (Photo/USN)
Mk-15 Square Array Proximity Weapon System. (Photo/U.S. Navy)
The crew fired four missiles (two Rams and two Sea Sparrows), all of which were precisely controlled by the Combat Command Center (CDC) and successfully intercepted,” Dougherty said.
In addition to the high-speed target aircraft, other types of drones were also engaged, with squares dealing with towed drones (TDUs, towed drone units) and high-speed unmanned boats (HSMSTs). According to Dougherty, three TDUs were destroyed, two of which were broken up, and three HSMSTs, which simulated suicide attack boats, were sunk from a safe distance.
HSMST speedboat. (Photo/USN)
CSSQT is the final part of a series of performance tests and trials (PDT&T) conducted after the Ford was handed over to the Navy, and now after completion, the Ford will be ready to undergo “Full Ship Shock Trials” (FSST, Full Ship Shock Trials) this summer, which is quite a test. shock, the warship near the detonation of 10,000 pounds of high explosives underwater, testing the ship’s sturdiness and survivability after a huge impact.
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