The U.S. Navy’s Biggest Enemy Isn’t Russia or China: Fire Is the Real Foe

The U.S. Navy’s Biggest Enemy Isn’t Russia or China: Fire Is the Real Foe

The U.S. Navy’s most advanced warships — the USS Gerald R. Ford and USS Zumwalt, among them — are paradoxically more vulnerable to fire than older ships. The USS Zumwalt operates a Total Ship Computing Environment with more than 6 million lines of code, with wiring that runs through compartments exposed to ocean salt and high humidity. The USS Gerald R. Ford uses electromagnetic aircraft launch systems running at extremely high voltages and curr…