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The US Navy Friday carried out a ‘full ship shock trial’ on the USS Gerald R Ford, its newest and most advanced nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, by detonating around 18 tonnes of explosives a few metres near the ship, to ensure its hardness was capable of withstanding battle conditions.
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The U.S. Navy conducts shock trials of new ship designs using live explosives to confirm that our warships can continue to meet demanding mission requirements under harsh conditions they might encounter in battle.
What is a Full Ship Shock Trial (FSST)?
- During World War II, American warships suffered severe damage from enemy mines and torpedoes that had actually missed their target, but exploded underwater in close proximity.
Source: IE - The US Navy has since worked to improve the shockproofing of their ship systems to minimize damage from such “near miss” explosions.
- In FSSTs, an underwater explosive charge is set off near an operational ship, and system and component failures are documented.
- The FSST probes whether the components survive shock in their environment on the ship; it probes the possibilities of system failures, and large components that could not be otherwise tested.
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