Three years after its announcement, the US government today awarded the construction of the Gerald R Ford at Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia.
President Donald Trump helped deliver the USS Gerald R. Ford to Naval Station Norfolk on Saturday and said the state-of-the-art aircraft carrier will send a “100,000-ton message to the world” that America’s military power is finally growing.
The latest aircraft carrier to join the US fleet at some point costs $12.9 billion, and with delays due to defense cost overruns, it will take at least four more years before it can actually become part of the US fleet.
There are many challenges awaiting the new aircraft carrier, as testing must be completed and a great deal of construction is still in progress. 
In fact , a major PDF problem (and not only) that needs to be solved involves the launch and recovery of aircraft, which is the sole reason for the existence of aircraft carriers.
The Gerald R Ford is a new generation of aircraft carriers. The first class was the Nimitz class, built in 1975. Construction began in 2005 and the ship was commissioned in its current form in 2013.
The new aircraft carrier Gerald R Ford will be the most expensive warship the United States has ever built.
