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Gerald R. Ford class aircraft carrier
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders: | Northrop Grumman Newport News |
| Operators: |  United States Navy |
| Preceded by: | Nimitz |
| Ships in class: | 3 |
| Ships active: | 0 |
| Ships building: | 0 |
| Ships planned: | Gerald R. Ford CVN-79 CVN-80 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 100,000 tons |
| Length: | 1,092 feet (332.84 m) |
| Beam: | 134 feet (41 m) |
| Propulsion and power: |
2 A1B nuclear reactors |
| Speed: | 30+ knots (34 mph - 56 km/h) |
| Complement: | 4,660 |
| Armament: | Surface-to-air missiles Close-in weapons systems |
| Aircraft carried: | More than 75 |
| Aviation facilities: | 1,092 × 256 foot (333 × 78 m) flight deck |
The Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers (or Ford-class) will be the next generation supercarrier for the United States Navy. Before its redesignation as the Ford-class (CVN-78), this new class of carriers was known as the CVNX carrier program ("X" meaning "in development") and then as the CVN-21 carrier program. (Here, the "21" is not a hull number; it is common in "future" plans in the U.S. military, as an allusion to 21st century, to distinguish from existing 20th century equipment. So CVN-21 means "21st century Aircraft Carrier, Nuclear).
The first hull of the CVN-21 line will be Gerald R. Ford.[1] The CVN-21 uses the basic hull design of the preceding Nimitz-class.
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Carriers of the Ford class will incorporate many new design features including a new nuclear reactor design (the A1B reactor), stealthier features to help reduce radar profile, electromagnetic catapults, advanced arresting gear, and reduced crewing requirements.[2] The U.S. Navy believes that with the addition of the most modern equipment and extensive use of automation they will be able to reduce the total cost of future aircraft carriers.[3] If the Navy can reduce the cost of constructing and maintaining an aircraft carrier, they will overcome the biggest complaint received in the U.S. Congress — that of funding.
Construction began on components of CVN-21 in the spring of 2007[4], and is planned to finish in 2015. It will be constructed at Northrop Grumman Newport News (formerly Newport News Shipbuilding), the only shipyard in the country capable of building and refueling nuclear powered aircraft carriers. It is estimated to cost at least $13 billion including the $5 billion spent on R&D and is not representative of the cost of future members of the class.[3]
A total of three carriers have been authorized for construction, but if the Nimitz class and Enterprise were to be replaced on a one-for-one basis, eleven carriers would be required over the life of the program.
- Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), (2013) — Scheduled to replace Enterprise (CVN-65).
- CVN-79, unnamed (2017)
- CVN-80, unnamed (2021)
- ^ "Next aircraft carrier named Gerald R. Ford", Forbes, 1/3/07.
- ^ Aircraft Carriers – CVN 21 Program. US Navy (Navy Fact File) (8 October, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-11-07.
- ^ a b Costing the CVN-21: A DID Primer. Defense Industry Daily (December 19, 2005). Retrieved on 2007-11-07. Covers the true costs of the CVN-21, how those are calculated, and where the $5 billion savings on operational costs is expected to come from over the ship's planned 50-year lifetime.
- ^ Jon W. Glass. Construction Begins on the First Ford-class Carrier. The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved on 2007-09-11.
- Design & Preparations Continue for the USA's New CVN-21 Super-Carrier (updated), Defense Industry Daily. Provides an extensive briefing re: the new ship class, and adds entries for many of the contracts under this program.
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| Gerald R. Ford | Unnamed (CVN-79) | Unnamed (CVN-80) |  |
| List of aircraft carriers of the United States Navy | |
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