US navy tests aircraft carrier with explosion that registers 3.9 magnitude earthquake.
15The US navy has released video of a "full ship shock trial" of the USS Gerald R Ford, one of the largest and newest aircraft carriers in the world.
The shock trial involved the detonation of just less than 20 tonnes of explosives within metres of the ship sailing off the United States east coast.
The USS Gerald R Ford is 333 metres long, 77m high and has a displacement of 100,000 tonnes.
The United States Geological Survey recorded the explosion as a 3.9 magnitude earthquake about 161 kilometres off the coast of Florida on Friday local time.
A sea level view of a huge cascade of water exploding into the air nearby an aircraft carrier.
The US navy said timing of the trial respected "known migration patterns of marine life".(US Navy)
The navy said the schedule for the tests "complies with environmental mitigation requirements, respecting known migration patterns of marine life in the test area".
"The US 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," the navy said in a statement.
The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) completes the first scheduled explosive event of Full Ship Shock Trials while underway in the Atlantic Ocean, June 18, 2021. 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.
UNITED STATES
06.18.2021
Video credit - Petty Officer 2nd Class Ryan Seelbach
USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78)