Page 63: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (November 2026)

FORD CLASS CARRIERS “The Ford carrier architecture doesn’t support steam so we make it onsite using the electricity that is available.

This limits the modifications necessary to the Ford-class carriers avoiding excess cost and construction delays to CVN-81 and enables competitive sourcing of parts.” – Matt Janssen, President,

Vapor Motive Company ware upgrade and other repairs.

EMALS is one of many ship systems that were shifted from steam-driven to electric-driven when the Navy tran- sitioned from the older Nimitz-class carriers to the Ford- class. Many processes and loads such as desalination, space

DESIGNED FOR THE MOSTDESIGNED FOR THE MOST heating, domestic water heating, cooking, and laundry are

DEMANDING SHIPYARD DEMANDING SHIPYARD now served by electrically-driven equipment. Some of this

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CONDITIONS CONDITIONS appears to be working well, but other systems have been

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F seriously problematic.

Tungsten Carbide burs are designed for consistent

The ship's vacuum collection, holding, and transfer performance, superior (VCHT) system, for example, is reported to suffer frequent stock removal, and longer clogs or lose vacuum. Maintenance challenges also affected service life.

some of the vessel’s next-generation systems, including the • BURS

Advanced Arresting Gear system to catch