[gandalftb]

America now has a ship, over a fifth of a mile long, weighs 232 million pounds, can go 35+ miles per hour to anywhere in the world, carry 90 fixed wing aircraft and helicopters......and can do a Tokyo Drift:

When I hear about all these reports about Indian and Chinese and Russian carriers, ya gotta laugh at their inferiority compared to our Navy.

[gandalftb]

US Navy rocks! (and rolls 13 degrees)

[43north]

OK, it can turn. How are the brakes?

[JayNorth]

The forces involved in turning a ship that large at 30 knots have to be incredible. Hats off to the engineers who made it a reality! I would have loved to have been a part of the project.

[cranked]

I was fortunate enough to be on the Abraham Lincoln when it did its sea trials. Rocked!

[FLAMING DEATH]

My buddy was is a plankholder on her sister ship, the USS Stennis (CVN-74).

Had the opportunity to go out to sea on a cruise with him and stand on the deck as they launched and recovered F-18s.

Very cool.

[Joe 6-pack]

The Hornet pilots aren’t the only ones going to need g-suits :-)

[Tallguy]

Truman maxed out at 30 plus knots during the run.

Just love how after all these years the USN can stick to these vague speed claims for our Nimitz-class carriers. It's a bit like if the USAF stopped making speed claims for their combat aircraft immediately after Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier.

[Menehune56]

Here's the official U. S. Navy Flickr website where you can download this insanely awesome photo in high resolution (click the little magnifying glass on the top right above the photo). Makes an awesome desktop!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/usnavy/7542976992/

[stevie_d_64]

One thing I learned while in the fleet...

When you operate with one of these things, when it turns it is best to get out of its way, regardless if you have the right of way, or not...

Can’t argue with that logic at all...Or the physics...

9,600 DWT -—> 100,000 DWT

Gives new meaning to “Tin-Can” sailors...

[bigbob]

Wow, a small city could water ski behind this baby!

[Excellence]

But can the sailors water ski behind it?

[Don Corleone]

Truman maxed out at 30 plus knots during the run

That's almost as fast as "High speed Harry" went when he was on his morning walks.

[MIchaelTArchangel]

Wake me up when they test the Gabby Giffords.

[Trod Upon]

In fairness, we've been at it a tad longer. Also remember that with even 1980s-1990s tech that thing is one stray missile or torp from being a hulk. Don't get me wrong--carriers are great for thumping turd-worlders who can't hit back in any meaningful way, but against a halfway modern enemy I think carriers (anybody's carriers) are this century's battleships. Impressive, expensive, and mostly obsolete. Look at systems like the Sunburn, BrahMos, or Shkval, for example, and contemplate massed attacks. Even CWIS has its limits. Actually I think they were pretty much obsolescent against a credible enemy by the late 1960's. Look at the resources we have pour into battlegroups just to protect the carrier. That's not to say they aren't useful and nice to have on hand, but I wonder about their survivability if the fur really flew against someone with modern platforms.

[Alter Kaker]

When I hear about all these reports about Indian and Chinese and Russian carriers, ya gotta laugh at their inferiority compared to our Navy.

Carriers are obsolete. Nothing the US can do to stop increasingly accurate ballistic missiles from top-level adversaries.

[Eye of Unk]

With four nuclear reactors the Big E was faster. A close friend who is a nuke specialist in the underwater boat department told me the Enterprise has a classified emergency flank speed of 75 knts.

[353FMG]

It’s not the equipment that we should be worried about — it’s the one in charge who controls all this equipment.

[ElPaseo]

Truman maxed out at 30 plus knots during the run

That’s jamming for craft that large.

[GreenLanternCorps]

Captain: Bootlegger reverse!

Helm: Bootlegger reverse! Aye Aye, sir!

[JohnBrowdie]

the military channel (or A&E, or the science channel, or one of the few other channels that I watch) did a show on the construction and sea trials of one of our newer carriers. seems like it was the bush, but I don’t recall.

they filmed (or videoed, I guess) the high speed rudder test. it was intense. sailors were ridiculously close to laying on the deck to remain upright. on the starboard side of the hangar deck, all you could see was sky. on the port side, nothing but sea.

nothing that massive should roll over on it’s side like that.