Gerald R. Ford class aircraft carrier
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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This article contains information about an as-yet unfinished ship.
It may contain preliminary or speculative information, and may not reflect the final version of the ship.
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 CVN-21 artist depiction |
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders: | Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding |
| Operators: |  United States Navy |
| Preceded by: | Nimitz |
| Building: | 1 |
| Planned: | Gerald R. Ford CVN-79 CVN-80 |
| Completed: | 0 (3 planned) |
| Active: | 0 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 100,000 long tons (approximately 101,600 metric 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-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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[edit] Features
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 crew requirement and the total cost of future aircraft carriers.[3]
[edit] Construction
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 Shipbuilding in Newport News, Virginia, the only shipyard in the country capable of building and refueling nuclear powered aircraft carriers. It is estimated to cost at least $8 billion excluding 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. However, the last Nimitz-class aircraft carrier will not be decommissioned until 2058.
[edit] 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.
If the current USS Ford (FFG-54) (commissioned in 1985 and named after a Vietnam era Gunner's Mate Patrick O. Ford, not President 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, Congressman Harry Mitchell proposed naming CVN-79 USS Arizona.[5]
[edit] Units
- Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), (2015) — Scheduled to replace Enterprise (CVN-65).
- CVN-79, unnamed (2018)
- CVN-80, unnamed (2021)
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "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.
- ^ Giblin, Paul (2007-12-07). Mitchell Urges Navy to Name Ship Arizona. Retrieved on 2008-01-21.
[edit] External links
- 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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