"The U.S. Navy's newest aircraft carrier — a massive warship outfitted with the latest radar technology and sophisticated systems to accommodate unmanned, carrier-launched drones — is set to undergo more than two years of rigorous testing.

The USS Ford's testing phase is longer and more labor intensive than normal because the next-generation warship incorporates many new technologies, including upgraded radar systems, more efficient nuclear power plants and electromagnetic launchers designed to more effectively propel aircraft off the carrier's deck.

The mammoth USS Ford weighs nearly 100,000 tons, and will eventually be home to more than 4,600 service people and up to 75 aircraft, according to Newport News Shipbuilding, which constructed the aircraft carrier.

The Ford-class ships are expected to usher in a new era of American naval power, and are designed to operate for 50 years. Construction is already beginning on the next aircraft carrier in the fleet, the USS John F. Kennedy."


http://news.yahoo.com/us-navys-next-generation-aircraft-carrier-begins-testing-142616395.html