Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier

"Ford class" redirects here. For the 1950s Royal Navy vessels, see Ford-class seaward defence boat.
Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier
USS Gerald R. Ford underway
USS Gerald R. Ford underway in April 2017
Class overview
NameGerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier
BuildersNewport News Shipbuilding
Operators United States Navy
Preceded by
Cost
  • Program cost: US$37.30 billion (FY2018)[1]
  • Unit cost: US$12.998 billion (FY2018)[1]
In service2017–present
Planned10[2][3]
On order1
Building2
Completed1
Active1
General characteristics
TypeAircraft carrier
DisplacementAbout 100,000 long tons (100,000 tonnes) (full load)[4]
Length1,092 ft (333 m)[5] – 1,106 ft (337 m)[6]
Beam
  • 256 ft (78 m) (flight deck)[7]
  • 134 ft (41 m) (waterline)[7]
Height250 feet (76 m)[8]
Draft39 ft (12 m)[9]
Decks25
Installed powerTwo Bechtel A1B PWR nuclear reactors, HEU 93.5%[10][11]
PropulsionFour shafts
SpeedIn excess of 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)[5]
RangeUnlimited
Endurance50-year service life
Complement
  • 508 officers
  • 3,789 enlisted[9]
CrewAbout 2,600[12]
Sensors and
processing systems
Electronic warfare
& decoys
Armament
Aircraft carried75+[7]
Aviation facilities1,092 ft × 252 ft (333 m × 77 m) flight deck

The Gerald R. Ford-class nuclear-powered aircraft carriers are currently being constructed for the United States Navy, which intends to eventually acquire ten of these ships in order to replace current carriers on a one-for-one basis, starting with the lead ship of her class, Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), replacing Enterprise (CVN-65), and later the Nimitz-class carriers. The new vessels have a hull similar to the Nimitz class, but they carry technologies since developed with the CVN(X)/CVN-21 program,[N 1] such as the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS), as well as other design features intended to improve efficiency and reduce operating costs, including sailing with smaller crews.[15] This class of aircraft carriers is named after former U.S. President Gerald R. Ford.[16] CVN-78 was procured in 2008 and commissioned into service on 22 July 2017. The second ship of the class, John F. Kennedy (CVN-79), is scheduled to enter service in 2025.

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference fas was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Combat fleet of the world 2012
  3. ^ Keller, John (8 June 2015). "Navy awards $3.4 billion contract to Huntington Ingalls to build Ford-class aircraft carrier". Military Aerospace Electronics Magazine. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  4. ^ "Aircraft Carriers - CVN". Fact File. United States Navy. 17 September 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  5. ^ a b "Aircraft Carriers - CVN". Fact Files. U.S. Navy Office of Information. 17 September 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  6. ^ "Command History & Facts". Commander, Naval Air Force Atlantic. US Navy. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  7. ^ a b c "Aircraft Carriers – CVN". navy.mil. Department of the Navy. 16 October 2014. Archived from the original on 17 October 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  8. ^ McFadden, Christopher (24 June 2022). "USS Gerald R. Ford: The most advanced carrier of the US cost around $13.3 billion to build". Interesting Engineering. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  9. ^ a b "USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78)". U.S. Carriers. US Navy. Archived from the original on 28 March 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2012.
  10. ^ "US study of reactor and fuel types to enable naval reactors to shift from HEU fuel". fissilematerials.org. 10 April 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  11. ^ "Validation of the Use of Low Enriched Uranium as a Replacement for Highly Enriched Uranium in US Submarine Reactors" (PDF). dspace.mit.edu. 19 May 2015. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  12. ^ Jenkins, Aric (22 July 2017). "The USS Gerald Ford Is the Most Advanced Aircraft Carrier in the World". Fortune. Archived from the original on 23 July 2017. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
  13. ^ "FY 2022 Annual Report" (PDF). Director, Operational Test and Evaluation. p. 167. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  14. ^ Zulkifli, Muhammad; Muhammad, Fadli; Nurjanah (2021). "Strengthening Indonesia Naval Base as a Aircraft Carrier at the Frontier to Increase Power of Deterrence and State Defense at Sea" (PDF). Journal of Defense Resources Management. 12 (2): 252.
  15. ^ "CVN 78 Gerald R Ford Class". Naval technology.com. 22 December 2009. Archived from the original on 20 December 2013. Retrieved 26 March 2010.
  16. ^ McLaughlin, Elizabeth (2 March 2017). "The USS Gerald R. Ford: By the numbers". ABC News. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 26 January 2022.


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