A small, non-combat-related fire broke out aboard the US aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford while it was operating in the Red Sea, according to the US Navy.
US Naval Forces Central Command said the incident occurred on 12 March and originated in the ship’s main laundry spaces. The cause of the fire was not related to combat operations and the blaze has since been contained.
“On March 12, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) experienced a fire that originated in the ship’s main laundry spaces,” the command said in a statement. “The cause of the fire was not combat-related and is contained.”
The US Navy said the carrier remains fully operational and that key propulsion systems were unaffected. “There is no damage to the ship’s propulsion plant, and the aircraft carrier remains fully operational,” the statement added.
Two sailors were injured in the incident and are receiving medical treatment, although their injuries are not believed to be serious.
“Two Sailors are currently receiving medical treatment for non-life-threatening injuries and are in stable condition,” the command said.
USS Gerald R. Ford is currently deployed to the Red Sea as part of the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group, which is supporting Operation Epic Fury in the region. Officials said further information will be released as it becomes available.
The vessel is the lead ship of the Ford-class aircraft carriers and among the largest warships ever built. Displacing around 100,000 tonnes, the nuclear-powered carrier is more than 330 metres long and can carry over 75 aircraft. Powered by two A1B nuclear reactors driving four shafts, the ship can exceed speeds of 30 knots and operate for roughly 25 years before refuelling.
The carrier’s crew and air wing together number more than 4,500 personnel. Its defensive systems include ESSM and RAM surface-to-air missiles, Phalanx close-in weapon systems and 25 mm guns, alongside advanced radar systems such as the AN/SPY-3 multi-function radar.
Someone not clean out the Lint in the dryers?
… Probably best it get’s relieved and sent home for maintenance.
Probably a bigger issue is whether the heads are still malfunctioning… 💩🫣
Damn vape shops.
Those tumble dryers are a proper menacing fire hazard… never leave your tumble dryer untended…
I’d have thought they would have been using hot water for heating the dryer and not electricity. But it might have been cheaper to use commercial 3-phase units.
Damn, those Anglo-Saxon kingdoms were more advanced than we thought.
It was the Mercians under Aethelred who first founded an English Navy, to be fair to them
Maybe less said about that navy, the better.
In other US military news, reports are they lost a KC135 over Iraq tonight.
Baby Talk Hegseth will call it an “operational variance”.
The USS Ford has been at sea on operations off Venezuela and now in the Red sea for quite some time now and like all thing that get use 24/7 with out a brake they tend to f–k up when you need them most. The US secretary of War Crimes is going to have to look at a rotation plan as this war is going to last a lot longer then the WH anticipated.
It’s was in the Med before Venezuela, so it’s done 3 crossings of the Atlantic and nearly 250 days on this single deployment. It’s systems aren’t fully functional – the waste system needs a periodic $400k acid flush to remain operational which is why it’s constantly flooding, the dual-band radars interfere with each other and we’re cited for replacement in 2016, it hasn’t had the 4th engine for the arrestor gear fitted, and it’s can operate F35Cs as various items such as blast-deflectors need updating first.
“can’t operate F35s” – the site needs edit functionality 🤦🏻♂️
The septic’s are renowned for their year long deployments which knocks hell out of there equipment and has a larger impact on their personnel who after a year on deployment are f–ked. But at least they have the ability to replace their ships, aircraft and personnel, we (the UK) have had 8 Typhoons in the area on high tempo of operational flying with no replacements on order those airframes are going to be past their sell by date when they finally get stood down.
There’s only been one carrier deployment longer than the Ford’s current one – and that was a fully functioning carrier. If they had the ability to replace their ships, the Ford would be home having its long overdue maintenance. At the moment it’s an environmental health-hazard to its crew.
Unlikely. Typhoon’s have a 1,200 hour flying hours between major maintenance, a design life of 6,000 hours and potential of up to 9,000 hours.
USS Ford’s predecessor the Enterprise was regularly deployed for a year or more, and all of the Nimitz class have had extended deployments in their 50 years of service along with their escorts Between 1991 and 2010 the Nimitz herself was engages in the Middle East supporting the forces in Iraq and Afghanistan and oftern spent 1 year plus in the area. The US forces on the ground in both those conflict had to do 1 year deployments and according to Mr Trump were the only ones on the front line!!!
As far as the Typhoons go you are forgetting that for every hour spent in the air they usually have 3 hours on the ground but with only 8 in the area to cover the whole on the Middle East from Iraq to Oman that is a lot of airtime even if they are just reacting to incoming and not maintaining a CAP so it would be better to have those airframes rotated out of the area to spared the load as we have so few.
• No it wasn’t.
• Longest deployment post WW2 was USS Midway for 332 days during the Vietnam War. Next is the USS Abraham Lincoln at 295 days in 2019-20.
• What part of “flying hours” was so difficult for you to understand that meant hours in the air and not on the ground?
• WTF why would they be flying a CAP?! 🤦🏻♂️
Stop making shit up, you’re just making yourself look stupid (again).
You stated above that there has only been one deployment longer than the current USS Ford deployment now you have come up with 2, I would suggest the you look a little harder you might be surprised.
The UK’s F35’s in the area are being use to locate and track targets then give the info to the Typhoons and/or the relivent ground systems that will engage the target.
As you pointed out below the 8 Typhoons in 12 squadron are in addition to the one’s already operating from Cyprus but they are what’s left of the operations to counter ISSIS in Syria and have now been tasked to protect the Cypriot air space (just like a CAP over a Carrier Battle group)
All these aircraft need to be maintained and as I said previously for every hour spent in the air they will require 3 on the ground then if we look at pilot fatigue due to the long time spent in the air most people will conclude that these aircraft and crews need regular rotations to maintain there war fighting capability but with the lack of available aircraft the UK is/will struggle to maintain this tempo which will shorten the life of the airframes involver in this war.
You seem to like to be-little people on this sight and like many others hide behind made up names, this and sites like this one could be such a positive thing but people like you bring the whole site down with this middle child syndrome attitude to other points of view dressing up your points of view as facts and just like Mr Trump who seems to have captivated his fellow Americans with one part truth an 3 parts BS people are starting to see through it.
You claim there are many more deployments than the two you mentioned. We’ll cite them if they exist, otherwise you’re just lying again.
I only belittle bullshitters like yourself that claim:
• year long carrier deployment like year long when they aren’t
• that’s the Typhoons in Cyprus are the only ones in region when there’s an entire squadron in Qatar
• that the Typhoons in Quatar were to fight ISIS – they weren’t
• that hours on the ground reduce the life of airframes when it’s only flying hours that do that.
Idiot and a liar.
You seem unable to accept that there are diffrent points of view and the so-called facts you sprout are indeed just your opinion not real facts and like the rabid dog in the WH you like to mix fact with BS to make it look as though you know what you are running on about.
As I said middle child syndrome and a petulant one to boot.
You’re like Trump, thinking facts are simply views and you can invent them whenever you want and ignorant the inconvenient truth.
Like him you’re a liar and a clown.
• The 8 RAF typhoons in Cyprus aren’t the only ones in “the Middle East from Iraq to Oman”. Twelve squadron, the joint typhoon squadron has deployed to Qatar (which happens to be halfway between Iraq and Oman”.
• You also forgot the RAF F35s deployed to Cyprus.
Perhaps a failed plan to end this 250 plus day deployment?