This is John Batchelor, a conversation with Rebecca Grant of the Lexington Institute about

the Jerala Ford in combat operations off Iran, now pulling back for resupply and because there

was a fire in the laundry, which must be addressed.

There was smoke inhalation by some of the sailors.

Rebecca, however, comments on the success of the Gerald R.

Fort in Combat Operations, starting with the launch system, which is new and spectacular,

but took years of development, the launch system, the pushing off of the ship of the aircraft.

Here Rebecca breaks it down, also comments on the elevator and the island.

More of this tonight.

Rebecca Grant on the Gerald R. Ford's success.

Yes, the emails, the electromagnetic launch, replacing steam catapults.

I've got to tell you this, the sailors that come back, they love this system.

It's far more sensitive.

You can use it to launch drones that are lighter.

You can launch heavier aircraft rather than just slamming everybody down the way that the steam did.

They also have different weapons elevators, and here's a number.

The Nimitz class carriers, 10,000 pounds of bombs up in the elevator. Ford class, she carriers, 10,000 pounds up in the elevator.

Ford class, she can take 24,000 pounds up to the deck per load.

And it's little things like this, the moving the island farther back so that you could put

more planes in front of the island in your deck configuration.

These are things that aviators really appreciate and it increases the combat strike power off the deck of the USS JLR.