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Still No Delivery Date for Most Expensive US Ship Ever Built

© Photo : Wikipedia/U.S. Navy USS Gerald R. Ford
USS Gerald R. Ford - Sputnik International
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After multiple delays, the US Navy claims that repairs to the troubled USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) are on track, but stopped short of declaring an expected delivery date for the most expensive US warship ever built.

Last month, the Navy indicated that delivery of CVN-78 will not be viable until after November, largely due to engine problems on the ship.

The estimated cost to the US Navy's second Ford-class aircraft carrier is already $370 million above a Congressionally mandated cap set for its construction after the USS Ford - pictured here - ran $2 billion over budget. - Sputnik International
Floating Nightmare: US Navy Has No Clue When $13 Billion Warship Will Be Done

On Wednesday, Vice Adm. Thomas Moore, the head of Naval Sea Systems Command, insisted that repairs are on track.

"We’re having regular conversations with the Hill and CNO (Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson) about that, and I expect before the end of the year here, we’ll be able to set a date certain," Moore told reporters, according to Breaking Defense.

"I can’t give you a date today, because we’ve got two months or so of testing."

It came to light last month that the USS Ford’s main turbine generators (MTG) had been damaged in electrical explosions during trials. The cause was traced to faulty voltage regulators. The ship requires some $37 million worth of repairs.

The USS Ford - seen here under construction in 2012 - ran $2 billion over budget but the Navy promised most of those costs were due to its being the first of its class and would not recur with the USS Kennedy. - Sputnik International
US' Newest, Most Expensive Aircraft Carrier May Soon Become Obsolete

"The problem with the MTGs is isolated to the MTGs, and we’re just about done (with) the root cause analysis and putting some fixes in place, and I expect us to be back into testing the MTGs on Ford here in the next couple weeks," Moore said.

"The rest of the test program on the ship is continuing."

While evaluations of the warship’s aircraft launch and landing systems are complete, the Navy still needs to complete tests on the Ford’s Dual-Band Radar and Advanced Weapons Elevators.

The Ford isn’t the Navy’s only problem. Citing "capacity issues at the naval shipyards," Moore said that a number of projects have faced delays.

"We did not induct the Boise this summer," he said, referring to a nuclear attack submarine. "The Boise availability was going to take 47 months, for an availability that should have taken about 22.

"We’re working as quickly as we can to get change proposals out, but the (process) that we use to design a new system, flesh it out, get it in the budget, sometimes is not compatible with the pace that the threat is changing."

This July 28, 2008 file photo shows USS Freedom, the first ship in the Navy's new Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) class. - Sputnik International
Top US Lawmakers Say Billion-Dollar Ship Needs Serious Repairs

The Ford has seen a number of delays, which has resulted in military officials’ lack of confidence in the new vessel.

"Unless these issues are resolved, which would likely require redesigning, they will significantly limit the CVN-78’s ability to conduct combat operations," Michael Gilmore, DoD director of operational test and evaluation, wrote in a July memo.

US Senator John McCain (R-AZ) has been vocal about his frustrations with the USS Ford’s development.

"The advanced arresting gear cannot recover airplanes. Advanced weapons elevators cannot lift munitions. The dual-band radar cannot integrate two radar bands," he said in a statement.

"Even if everything goes according to the Navy’s plan, CVN-78 will be delivered with multiple systems unproven."

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