 CVN-21 artist depiction |
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders: | Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding |
| Operators: |  United States Navy |
| Preceded by: | Nimitz class aircraft carrier |
| Building: | 1 |
| Planned: | Gerald R. Ford CVN-79 CVN-80 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 100,000 long tons (approximately 101,600 metric tons or 112,000 short tons) |
| Length: | 1,092 ft (333 m) |
| Beam: | 134 ft (41 m) |
| Propulsion: | 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.)
The first hull of the CVN-78 line will be Gerald R. Ford.[1] The CVN-78 uses the basic hull design of the preceding Nimitz-class.
Contents |
Features
Carriers of the Ford class will incorporate fourteen [2] new design features including:
- Advanced arresting gear.
- Automation, which reduces crew requirements by several hundred from the Nimitz class carrier.
- The updated RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow missile system.[3]
- AN/SPY-3 dual-band radar (DBR), as developed for Zumwalt class destroyers.
- An Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) in place of traditional steam catapults for launching aircraft.
- A new nuclear reactor design (the A1B reactor) for greater power generation.
- Stealthier features to help reduce radar profile.
- The capability of launching the F-35C Lightning II.[4]
The US Navy believes that with the addition of the most modern equipment and extensive use of automation, it will be able to reduce the crew requirement and the total cost of future aircraft carriers.[5] The primary recognition feature compared to earlier supercarriers will be the more aft location of the navigation "island".
Construction
Construction began on components of CVN-78 in the spring of 2007,[6] and is planned to finish in 2015. It will be constructed at Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding in Newport News, Virginia, the only shipyard in the United States capable of building nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. In 2005 it was estimated to cost at least $8 billion excluding the $5 billion spent on research and development (though that was not expected to be representative of the cost of future members of the class).[5] A 2009 report said that the Ford would cost $14 billion including research and development, and the actual cost of the carrier itself would be $9 billion.[7]
A total of three carriers have been authorized for construction, but if the Nimitz-class carriers and the Enterprise were to be replaced on a one-for-one basis, eleven carriers would be required over the life of the program. However, the last Nimitz-class aircraft carrier is not scheduled to be decommissioned until 2058.
In a April 6, 2009, speech, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced that the Navy Aircraft Carrier program would "shift" to a five year building program so as to place it on a "more fiscally sustainable path." Such a measure would result in ten carriers by 2040.[8]
Naming
There was a movement by the USS America Carrier Veterans' Association to have CVN-78 named after the America rather than after President Ford. Eventually, LHA-6 was named America.
If the current USS Ford (FFG-54), a Perry-class frigate commissioned in 1985 (named after Vietnam era Gunner's Mate Patrick O. Ford), is still in commission when CVN-78 enters service, there will be two commissioned warships on the Naval Vessel Register named Ford.
On December 7, 2007, the 66th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, U.S. Representative Harry Mitchell proposed naming the second Ford-class carrier, CVN-79, the USS Arizona.[9]
Ships in class
There are expected to be ten ships of this class.[10] To date, three have been announced:
- Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), (2015) — Scheduled to replace Enterprise (CVN-65).
- CVN-79, unnamed (2018)
- CVN-80, unnamed (2021)
Aircraft
The Ford class of carriers will be capable of carrying about 90 aircraft including the F-35 joint strike fighter, the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, the EA-18G Growler, E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, C-2A Greyhound, MH-60R/S Seahawk helicopters and unmanned combat air vehicles such as the X-47 Pegasus.[3]
See also
References
- ^ "Next aircraft carrier named Gerald R. Ford". Forbes. 1/3/07. http://www.forbes.com/entrepreneurs/feeds/ap/2007/01/03/ap3296796.html.
- ^ http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/weapons/RS20643.pdf
- ^ "Aircraft Carriers – CVN 21 Program". US Navy (Navy Fact File). 8 October 2007. http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=4200&tid=250&ct=4. Retrieved 2007-11-07.
- ^ a b "Costing the CVN-21: A DID Primer". Defense Industry Daily. 19 December 2005. http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/2005/12/costing-the-cvn21-a-did-primer/index.php. Retrieved 2007-11-07. Covers the costs of the CVN-21 program, 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. http://hamptonroads.com/node/241601. Retrieved 2008-10-31.
- ^ "The Politician Class Carriers Evolve". strategypage.com. 2009-04-12. http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htnavai/articles/20090412.aspx. Retrieved 2009-04-18.
- ^ http://www.defenselink.mil/speeches/speech.aspx?speechid=1341
- ^ Giblin, Paul (2007-12-07). "Mitchell Urges Navy to Name Ship Arizona". http://mitchell.house.gov/news/view_article.asp?ID=159. Retrieved 2008-01-21.
- ^ http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_6712/is_24_239/ai_n29459545/
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Gerald R. Ford class aircraft carriers |
- 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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