USS Gerald R.

Ford (Class Ford)

History of USS Gerald R. Ford

Ford class, previously known as CVN-21 class), is a class of supercarrier being

built to replace the USS Enterprise (CVN-65)

eventually the United States Navy's existing Nimitz-class carriers, beginning with
the delivery of CVN-78, USS Gerald R. Ford. The new vessels have a hull similar
to the Nimitz carriers, but introduce technologies since developed such as
the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System, as well as other design features
intended to improve efficiency and reduce operating costs, including sailing with
smaller crews

Class overview
Name: Gerald R. Fordclass aircraft
carrier
Builders: Newport News Shipbuilding
Operators: United States Navy
Preceded Nimitz class
by:
Cost: Program cost: $36.30
[1]
billion (FY15)
[1]
Unit cost: $10.44B (FY15)
In service: 2017-present
Building: 2
[2][3]
Planned: 10
Completed: 1
Active: 1

Carriers of the Ford class will have:

Advanced arresting gear.

Automation, allowing a crew of several hundred fewer than the Nimitz-class

carrier.

The updated RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow missile. An AN/SPY-3 X

Band multifunction radar and an AN/SPY-4 S Band volume search
 radar. Designated together as Dual Band Radar (DBR), initially developed for
the 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.

Stealth features to reduce radar cross-section.

The ability to carry up to 90 aircraft, including the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super

Hornet, Boeing EA-18G Growler, Grumman C-2 Greyhound, Northrop Grumman
E-2 Hawkeye, Lockheed Martin F-35C Lightning II, Sikorsky SH-60
Seahawk helicopters, and unmanned combat aerial vehicles such as
the Northrop Grumman X-47B.

The US Navy aims to use modern equipment and extensive automation to

reduce the crew size and the total cost of future aircraft carriers.

The biggest visible difference from earlier supercarriers will be the more aft
location of the island (superstructure).

Ships of the Ford class are intended to sustain 160 sorties per day for 30-plus
days, with a surge capability of 270 sorties per day.

Director of Operational Testing Michael Gilmore has criticized the assumptions

used in these forecasts as unrealistic and has indicated sortie rates similar to the
120/240 per day of the Nimitz class would be acceptable.