The tests of the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier for resistance to explosions can be called a signal for Russia and China, but they did not show what would become of the warship in the event of a direct hit, wrote the South China Morning Post journalist Liu Zhen.
Earlier, as part of tests on June 18, the US military detonated an 18-ton TNT equivalent bomb near its aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford off the coast of Florida. The media wrote that shock tests are necessary to find weak points in order to eliminate vulnerabilities in the construction of the next ships. It was reported that the aircraft carrier received minor damage.
The author of the article noted that by demonstrating the results of “blowing up” an aircraft carrier, the United States warns that its ships are capable of withstanding enemy anti-ship weapons.
The material notes that a controlled explosion carried out by the US military near the ship proved only that Ford-class aircraft carriers can withstand the explosions of certain types of water mines or inaccurate missile strikes.
However, as the SCMP journalist emphasized, the Russian Zircon hypersonic cruise missiles and the Chinese DF-21D and DF-26 ballistic missiles are still effective weapons against the American fleet.
USS Gerald R. Ford is a series of US multipurpose nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, which have been under construction since 2009. They were created as an improved version of the Nimitz aircraft carriers and differ from them due to the high degree of crew automation and lower operating costs.