Gerald R. Ford class aircraft carrier

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United States
CVN-78 (artist depiction)
Builders:	Northrop Grumman Newport News
Operators:	United States Navy
Preceding class:	Nimitz
Ships in Class
Ships in class:	3
Ships planned but not completed:	3
Ships planned:	Gerald R. Ford CVN 79 CVN 80
General Characteristics
Class type:	Nuclear powered supercarrier
Displacement:	100,000 tons
Length:	1,092 feet (332.84 m)
Beam:	134 feet (41 m)
Draught:	Unknown
Propulsion and power:	2 nuclear reactors
Speed:	30+ knots (56 km/h)
Complement:	4,660
Armament:	Surface-to-air missiles Close-in weapons systems
Aircraft complement:	More than 75
Aircraft 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 (CVN78), this new class of carriers was known as the CVNX carrier program and then as the CVN-21 carrier program. It should not be confused with CV 21, the hull designation for the post-World War II carrier USS Boxer, which was in service from 1945-1969.

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. 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. 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.

The first hull of the CVN-21 (formerly CVNX) line will be Gerald R. Ford. The CVN-21 uses the basic hull design of the preceding Nimitz-class, though that is where the similarities will end.

As of October 2005, one CVN-21 is planned to start construction in 2007 and finish in 2015. It will be constructed at Northrop Grumman Newport News (Formerly Newport News Shipyard), 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.

At present 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.

[edit] Units

Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), (2015) — Scheduled to replace Enterprise (CVN-65).
CVN-79, unnamed (2018)
CVN-80, unnamed (2021)

[edit] External links

Defense Industry Daily: Design & Preparations Continue for the USA's New CVN-21 Super-Carrier (updated). Provides an extensive briefing re: the new ship class, and adds entries for many of the contracts under this program.

Defense Industry Daily: Costing the CVN-21: A DID Primer. 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.