On Friday off the East Coast of the United States, the U.S. Navy deployed a controlled explosion to test the integrity of the new U.S. Navy aircraft carrier.

The Navy authorizes shock trials for newly designed ships to ensure they meet demands under harsh conditions.

Intense Explosion

About 100 miles off the coast of Florida, a big blast from this explosion registered as a 3.9 magnitude earthquake. The U.S. Navy released footage of the shock trials from different angles. One was taken on board the ship, which shows the full intensity of the explosion.

The USS Gerald R. Ford is a first-in-class vessel and the Navy’s most advanced aircraft carrier. The ship was designed using advanced computer modeling methods, ensuring it would withstand harsh conditions in battle. Therefore, these shock trials are necessary to provide more insight into the integrity and readiness of the ship.

Posts on the USS Gerald R. Ford social media relay that “the leadership and the crew demonstrated Navy readiness fighting through the shock, proving our warship can ‘take a hit’ and continue our mission on the cutting edge of naval aviation.”

Through a Facebook post, the Navy further explained the purpose of shock trials, “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.”

When and why did shock trials come into play?

During World War II, the Navy discovered that a nearby blast from an explosion could potentially disrupt a ship’s key system and cripple functionality.

Therefore, shock trials came into play to optimize a ship’s integrity. Fortunately, the Navy confirmed they are conducting these trials in a way that “complies with environmental mitigation requirements, respecting known migration patterns of marine life in the test area.”