USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78)

The USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) is the lead ship of her class of United States Navy aircraft carriers. The ship is named after the 38th President of the United States, Gerald Ford, whose World War II naval service included combat duty aboard the light aircraft carrier USS Monterey in the Pacific Theater.

The keel of Gerald R. Ford was laid down on November 13th, 2009. Construction began on August 11th 2005, when Northrop Grumman held a ceremonial steel cut for a 15-ton plate that forms part of a side shell unit of the carrier. She was christened on November 9th 2013. Gerald R. Ford entered the fleet replacing the decommissioned USS Enterprise, which ended her fifty-one years of active service in December 2012. Gerald R. Ford was delivered to the Navy on May 31st 2015 and formally commissioned by President Barack Obama on July 22nd, 2015.

The Gerald R. Ford would take part in the 2030 RIMPAC wherein it, alongside the carriers George Washington, John C. Stennis and Ronald Reagan, faced off against fellow carriers Australia, Haku, Prince of Wales and Victorious in a massive mock carrier battle.