Itās the largest warship in the world. On the high seas, it stands unrivaled. And for its very first deployment,
the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford headed from North America to Europe,
making the transatlantic journey to train alongside NATO Allies. The Gerald R. Ford is the first ship
in a new class of US Navy aircraft carriers. It's a nuclear-powered,
technologically advanced floating airfield with enough firepower
to deter potential adversaries on sight. After years of sea trials and shock tests,
the Ford was finally ready to deploy alongside
NATO Allies in October 2022. The journey across the Atlantic begins
in Halifax, Canada. From there, the Ford and its
multinational Carrier Strike Group will retrace the path blazed
by Canadian and US merchant ships during World War Two. Over 80 years ago, Canadians, Americans
and our Allies fought together across the Atlantic to secure the sea lines
of communication. They endured heavy seas. They endured a relentless enemy,
but they enabled that war effort and enabled victory throughout that
longest battle of World War Two. And today we continue that tradition. From there, the aircraft carrier evolved,
growing in size and strength. Nuclear power plants gave them
global range while the advent of steam-powered catapults
let them launch heavier fighters. Aircraft carriers were soon a common sight
in Allied navies, including France and the United Kingdom, with a strike
group of warships accompanying them. These ships carry powerful weapons
of their own, but their main mission is to defend
the carrier against attack. Protected by this ring of steel, the carrier can sail almost anywhere. If I had to capture
what a carrier strike group is, I would describe it simply
as the centrepiece of power projection. We operate self-sustained, independent
and can go anywhere globally to wherever we need to go,
at the drop of a hat. Commissioned in 2017,
the USS Gerald R. Ford is the first ship in a brand-new class. And, according to the US Navy, the most technologically advanced
carrier to ever set sail. But what makes it different
from what came before? Our propulsion plant is all new. New electrical distribution system. Smaller crew, intended for less maintenance. Weāre excited about the new technologies
that Ford brings to the table. The most prominent ones are the
electromagnetic aircraft launch system and the advanced arresting gear. Most aircraft carriers launch jets
off their flight decks with catapults powered by steam. But you won't see any hot air
coming off the Ford's flight deck. This ship uses
an electromagnetic launch system to get its jets airborne. When it comes to these new catapults,
thereās more than meets the eye. We can shoot aircraft at a wider range
in terms of weight. We anticipate using more
unmanned vehicles in the coming years. Those might be lighter than the
strike fighters that we're shooting right now. And we anticipate less stress
on those aircraft, less lifetime cost on the aircraft. When it comes down to it, the most important thing on an
aircraft carrier is the aircraft. Embarked on the Ford is
Carrier Air Wing Eight, which includes approximately 60 aircraft. From strike fighters
to surveillance aircraft and helicopters, each airframe has a role. You can almost think of it
like a football team. You have layers of defence. You also have layers of offense. They all have to work together
in order for that play to succeed. While a fully loaded
flight deck is certainly impressive, those planes can't fly without pilots. Far from the cocky aviators
of <i>Top Gun</i> fame, today's fighter pilots
embrace a different mindset. We definitely subscribe to a bit of a
āwork hard, play hardā mentality. But really what we end up looking for is somebody who is humble,
credible and approachable. The naval aviators of Strike Fighter Squadron 37, the āRaginā Bullsā, train to fly everything
from bombing raids to combat air patrols to acting as flying gas stations
for other fighters. What does an ordinary day
look like in this less than ordinary job? About an hour prior to your take-off,
you're going to go get kitted up, get all your flight gear on and
then it's time to go up to the flight deck. So the flight deck is always a very dynamic
and quite dangerous place. So you kind of have to be strategic. Once you're in the airplane, a whole bunch of checks
to do between your systems and the ship. It's a whole lot of work
leading up to that cat shot, which is the moment that
youāve been waiting for. The defining trait of a naval aviator
is the ability to land on a small floating runway in the middle
of a very large and very unforgiving sea. To accomplish this feat, the Hornets use
a tail hook to snag a thick steel cable bringing 20 tonnes of metal to a
dead stop in a matter of seconds. Landing on an aircraft carrier
is definitely difficult. It's challenging. We've got a whole lot of technology
helping us do it. In the moments leading up to
touching down on the aircraft carrier, really kind of fine-tuning
those corrections to make sure that you're on the optimal glide path
just prior to touching down. There might have used to be panic
and uncertainty. That's what you do all the training for, to get all of those moments
out of the way. It's been several days
since the Ford set off from Halifax. Its sailors have settled into the groove
of daily operations. With more than 4,000 sailors aboard,
the Ford isnāt just a ship. It's an office,
a dinner table, a gym, a home. A ship this big can burn through supplies
at an alarming rate. To top off its stocks, the Ford must conduct replenishments at sea, a complicated operation
where pulleys and helicopters ferry across everything from jet fuel
to air-to-air missiles to mail from home. The journey referred to by sailors
as an underway can be long,
and routine can lead to tedium. But the mission is
more than worth the effort. Being at sea for a long period of time, it does get a little stressful sometimes. You have to find ways
to be able to relieve stress, whether that be going
to the gym, decompressing, having conversations
with other people and friends. We have to make that camaraderie
and be able to get to the finish line of the mission. The Ford has crossed the Atlantic
to arrive off the shores of Portugal. Sailing alongside it are ships
from six NATO Allies. Their job is to keep the carrier safe
and to provide extra firepower in the simulated battles that will test the Carrier
Strike Group's combat readiness. It's been a long trip, but now it's time
to hit the throttles and see what the world's largest warship can do. Day and night, the flight deck is busy as jets launch on training missions
that simulate air interceptions, surface strikes
and anti-submarine warfare. We're here to conduct high-level
maritime operations across the spectrum. We're here to showcase
the Gerald R. Ford, and then integrate Allies and partners. No nation can truly stand on their own. We are stronger as an alliance. And so working together allows us to create those frameworks,
and through exercises, truly be able to work in partnership
with each other whenever we need to. As the exercise nears its end and the Ford prepares to conclude
its journey in Portsmouth, England,
the flight deck turns emotional as several of the ship's naval
aviators share a bittersweet milestone: the last carrier landings
in their naval careers. Certainly, we're all
going to have to stop doing this one day. We're always going to miss the flying,
for sure, every single one of us. But really, really, really, it's going to be
about missing the people. The other pilots that I fly with, the leadership that we are under, the 18, 19-year-old sailor who is working on the aircraft
and we trust our lives with. It's really a symphony of literally
thousands of dedicated people working together towards
one common goal. To be part of that, on a personal level, is very special. For these aviators, the journey is over. But for the USS Gerald R. Ford,
it's just beginning. Just months after this deployment,
the Ford returned to European waters for a full tour of duty, coming under direct NATO command
for the first time. With unmatched range and power, the Ford now leads Allied navies in the
crucial task of deterring aggression and, if necessary, defending NATO
against external threats. In these uncertain times, the world's
largest warship is on watch in Europe and on guard.
