Video Shows Massive Explosion After Navy Sets Off 40,000-Pound Bomb in Atlantic Ocean

A U.S. Navy video that was posted on Twitter Sunday shows the massive explosion of a 40,000-pound bomb detonated in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean on the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier. The video has been viewed nearly 400,000 times on Twitter as of publication time.

The explosion was part of the Navy's Full Ship Shock Trials (FSST), which are designed to test the durability of ships against underwater explosives like the one in the video.

The test was conducted Friday about 100 miles from Florida's Daytona Beach, which experienced a 3.9 magnitude earthquake following the explosion. A Navy spokesperson told Action News, which is local to the area, that it isn't uncommon for shock tests such as these to register as earthquakes, and that it has happened before.

Newsweek has contacted Daytona Beach for details on any damages and casualties caused by any earthquake, but the city was unavailable for comment by publication time.

A statement released by the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) said that USS Gerald R. Ford was crafted using "advanced computer modeling methods, testing, and analysis to ensure the ship is hardened to withstand battle conditions." Once FSST for the aircraft carrier is completed later this summer, the Ford will undergo "modernization, maintenance, and repairs" before reentering operations.

Some Twitter users expressed concern about the potential effects on marine life in the area where the bomb was detonated.

"I hope you tested this in a 'dead zone' with no aquatic life. Humans have to stop killing corals, deafening cetaceans, etc. We need a healthy ocean," @nazani14 replied to the video.

"This is absolutely horrifying! I wonder what the kill zone was for marine life in the area? This is so depressing!" @TwoThousand_17 wrote.

According to the DVIDS statement, the shock trials are being conducted off the East Coast of the United States "within a narrow schedule that complies with environmental mitigation requirements, respecting known migration patterns of marine life in the test area." The Navy also takes "extensive" safety measures to protect any military personnel or civilians involved in the tests, the statement said.

Others also expressed confusion about how the test was funded. @JanetRWeil called the test a "[waste] of tax dollars & resources."

"I wonder how much good the money spent on that single look-at-our-boom-toy moment could have done," @fooblued wrote.

Newsweek has contacted DVIDS, but the service was unavailable for comment by publication time.