As USS Gerald R Ford is thrust into one conflict zone after another, things are starting to break. Recently, the 4,000-sailor crew of the world’s largest supercarrier was running out of functioning toilets due to issues with the complicated vacuum plumbing system.

Other issues have also plagued CVN-78’s EMALS, arresting gear, weapons elevators, and even the radar system. We discuss how a breakneck OpTempo is starting to wear on the vessel, but why this also means the forthcoming CVN-79 (USS John F. Kennedy Jr) and CVN-80 (USS Enterprise) will be better.