New footage shows explosive tests carried out by the US Navy near Florida

• The USS Gerald R. Ford completed its first explosive event of full-ship shock trials Friday.
• The Navy detonated explosives near the carrier to see how it holds up against shock and vibrations.
• The testing is designed to simulate aspects of real combat and test the hardness of the ship.
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The US Navy set off explosives near its new supercarrier to simulate actual combat and see how it holds up against shock and vibrations.

USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), the first of a new class of aircraft carriers, completed the first explosive event of the ongoing full-ship shock trials on Friday off the coast of Florida, where the Navy detonated explosives near the carrier.

These latest trials mark the first time since 1987 the Navy has conducted shock trials with an aircraft carrier. The last ones involved the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, according to the Navy.

Shock trials are designed to test how Navy warships hold up against severe vibrations and identify potential shock-related vulnerabilities in a combat vessel. Nearby explosions, even when vessels were not taking direct hits, would send destructive, high-pressure waves toward them.

After completing full-ship shock trials, the aircraft carrier will return to the pier at Newport News Shipbuilding for its first planned incremental availability for six months.