The USS Gerald R. Ford Is Big, Heavy, and Expensive as Hell

Later this year, for the first time in more than four decades, the United States Navy will enter a new class of aircraft carrier into service. The USS Gerald R. Ford, named for America’s first model-slash-president, is a thoroughly modern carrier through and through. She’s the first American ship to use an electromagnetic catapult to launch airplanes. The first to feature stealth features. The first to use a new class of nuclear reactor capable of powering laser cannons and deflector shields.