The US Army wants to prepare for new times. The Pentagon has announced that this summer, the aircraft carrier USS Gerald Ford will carry out a capabilities test of its two A1B nuclear reactors.
According to specialized media, the maneuver will take place at the Norfolk Naval Station (state of Virginia), and will consist of supply power to a ground base.
The objective is ensure that facilities can continue to be operational even after having suffered attacks or any severe technical breakdown that damage or disconnect your conventional energy sources.
The energy resupply maneuver from a ship to a fixed installation is not something new as such, but using a ‘Ford’ class aircraft carrier for such an operation is, as the .
Talk about Gerald Ford aircraft carrier is to talk about practically, a municipality in itself, with capacity for between 4,000 and 5,000 people on board. Beyond space, it has a wealth of supplies that allows it to undertake journeys like the one it has just undertaken for no less than 326 days of uninterrupted service. And with support missions as diverse as those of the capture of Nicolás Maduro or the war against Iran.
The protagonists of the new adventure planned for the summer will be the two A1B nuclear reactors. Although there is no specific data on their capabilities because it is a matter reserved for the US Government, it is estimated that power for each reactor of 700 thermal megawattsthe magnitude that measures the heat power released in the reactor core. Between the two, therefore, 1,400 MWt.
If the maneuver is successful, the US Army would open a new stage in its capabilities, by offering a ‘floating power plant’ service on its own aircraft carrier. And, more importantly, it would allow reach places where it is impossible to offer other types of energy supplies in a scenario of war or catastrophe.
