NORFOLK, Va. — Another challenge for the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford has come to light.
A new report from the Pentagon Test and Evaluation Office uncovered problems with the ship's jet blast deflector.
That's the large panel that raises up, just before a jet is catapulted off the flight deck. The deflector is supposed to protect the ship and sailors from intense heat.
There were "corroded fasteners in various components," according to the report.
The report said the Navy will continue to look at improving the reliability of components within those systems and should have better parts in place by the end of the fiscal year 2023.
Last November, the ship returned from a maiden two-month deployment to the North Atlantic.
The $13 billion ship was constructed at Newport News Shipbuilding and commissioned in 2017. The Navy has said it will depart on its first regularly scheduled six-month deployment sometime in 2023.