US Navy (Navy) established the cause of a fire on a universal landing ship (UDC) USS Bonhomme Richard. The unsatisfactory technical condition of the ship and the low level of crew preparing to fire, writes the portal Janes.
The publication notes that the “Aggregate of random factors” led to the fire. In particular, Navy specialists noted the improper quality of the vehicle maintenance, which aggravated the low level of crew preparation. Also, the reasons for the fire attributed erroneous actions of the captain of the ship and representatives of the US Navy.
On the evening of July 12, 2020, there was information about the fire on USS Bonhomme Richard. The quenching continued until July 17. The cost of the restoration of the ship, which burned 65 percent, was estimated at 3 billion dollars. This amount tripled exceeded the cost of building UDCs, so they refused to restore.
Before the fire on USS Bonhomme Richard began work on the re-equipment of the ship in a light aircraft carrier. As the F-35B Lightning II fighter carrier, the ship could serve until 2035.
Universal landing ship Uss Bonhomme Richard has become a sixth vessel type “WESP”. The ship was taken to the US Navy in 1998. UDC of this type can carry up to 20 F-35B aircraft Lightning II. Arms of the ship includes artillery complexes and anti-aircraft missiles.
In August, the US Navy completed the tests of the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford underwater explosions. At the last stage of tests, the explosion power in the boards of the ship was 18 tons in TNT equivalent. Tests recorded as an earthquake of magnitude 3.9.