Aircraft Carrier USS Gerald R. Ford CVN-78-UPGRADE

Plastic model kit for the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78)
   Upgrade version  

• Scale 1:700
• Many details
• Decals available
• Photo-etched parts included
• Additional aircraft included compared to MGF6401
• Unbuilt / unpainted
• Paint and glue not included

The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) is the lead ship of the Ford class and costs 13 billion dollars. This makes it the most expensive warship of the US Navy ever. The USS Gerald R. Ford was christened on November 9, 2013, delivered to the Navy on May 31, 2017 and officially commissioned on July 22, 2017. The Ford took 8 years to build and it became the most powerful attack force in the world.

The USS Ford deployed several high-tech technologies: the first-class technologies include a new A1B nuclear power plant, 4 electromagnetic aircraft launch systems (EMALS), a phased array dual-band radar (DBR), a ship-based laser defense system and so on.

The USS Ford has various types of ship-based attack and air defense weapons, including RIM-162ESSM, RIM-116RAM, the Phalanx CIWS and the Mark 38 25mm machine gun system.

The USS Ford could carry up to 90 aircraft, including the F-35C Lightning, F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, E-2 Hawkeye, EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft, MH-60R/S helicopters, and unmanned aerial and combat vehicles (CVW-8), with the largest number of aircraft being transported.

Gerald R. Ford departed Naval Station Norfolk on October 4, 2022, for Task Force Exercise (TFEX). The carrier is scheduled to conduct operations and training exercises alongside NATO allies and partners throughout the Atlantic. On May 3, 2023, Gerald R. Ford departed Naval Station Norfolk for her first full deployment and is scheduled to operate in the 2nd and 6th Fleet areas of responsibility (AOR). On May 24, 2023, the ship arrived just outside Oslo, Norway, for NATO exercises and received a visit from Norwegian Crown Prince Haakon. She is later scheduled to depart for the Arctic for additional exercises. In early October 2023, Gerald R. Ford conducted naval exercises with the Italian Navy in the Ionian Sea. On October 8, 2023, the Ford Group will deploy to the Eastern Mediterranean "to enhance regional deterrence efforts" in the Arab region.