The U.S. Navy is making a boom with its new shock trials. Testing to see how much impact carrier ships can withstand, the Navy recently tested explosives next to the USS Gerald R. Ford. And you can check out the blasts in some pretty amazing footage.
According to CNBC, this is the third and final round of explosive tests being conducted. The reasoning behind the tests is to make sure that aircraft carriers can withstand a certain amount of explosive impact.
And according to the report, the USS Gerald R. Ford handled three underwater 40,000-pound blasts. Further, the Navy wants to make sure that the ships can stand impacts in case of battle conditions. After the initial test, the Navy continued to move closer and closer to the ship to make sure it could handle the blast.
The testing took place over the course of three months so that officials could study the effects. Further, the USS Gerald R. Ford is the newest and most advanced ship in the Navy’s fleet, according to the video.
And it appears that the tests were successful. In a cool video, CNBC also shared the moment the carrier was impacted. But don’t take our word for it, you need to see this footage yourself.
U.S. Navy Announces Collaborative Training Mission
Back in November, the U.S. Navy, along with the United Kingdom, Australia and Japan teamed up for some training missions in the Western Pacific. The united front from the four countries’ navy teams created a show of force to China, authorities said.
The mission has continued for several months.
“All four participating nations have enduring interests in the security, stability, and well-being of the Indo-Pacific region,” Rear Adm. Dan Martin said in a statement. “We will continue to fine-tune our collective assets – speed, precision, lethality – in order to maximize our warfighting proficiency with our regional trusted partners.”
“This was another opportunity to train and exercise together to improve interoperability and strengthen our capabilities. And [it] was not conducted in response to any specific event. Over several days, USS Milius and the P-8 were the only U.S. units that participated,” he wrote in an email.
Further, Navy officials relayed that the show of unity was of equal importance as a show of force. And the collaborative mission displays a common ground between each nation.
“The U.S. Navy routinely conducts integrated training operations with its international partners to demonstrate our commitment and investment in the Indo-Pacific region. In addition to preserving rules-based international order in the global maritime commons, the U.S. Navy’s unwavering pledge to maritime security in the Indo-Pacific is critical to international trade and commerce,” says Rear Adm. Jeffrey Jablon.
