The class of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers named Gerald R. Ford, developed by Huntington Ingalls Industries Newport News Shipbuilding, aspires to a quantum leap in technology and strategy for the US Navy. Begun under the CVN-21 Aircraft Carrier Program, this class was supposed to promote a conceptual redefinition of naval warfare and power projection.
The lead ship, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), was delivered to the US Navy in May 2017 and commissioned in July of the same year. After its grueling final deployment composite training unit exercise in April 2023, it was certified as a combat-deployable warship. The second carrier, USS John F Kennedy (CVN 79), was christened and launched in December 2019, with a delivery to the Navy scheduled for July 2025. Enterprise and Doris Miller are next scheduled for delivery in March 2028 and February 2032.
The development of the Gerald R Ford class began with a series of major contracts awarded to Northrop Grumman Newport News. These had included a contract for $107.6 million in July 2003; $1.39 billion in May of 2004; and, in addition, $559 million for propulsion system design. The first steel for CVN 78 was cut in August 2005, and by September 2008, a $5.1 billion contract was secured for detailed design and construction. The keel was laid down in November 2009 and by October 2013, it was fitted out with four 30-tonne bronze propellers.
The Gerald R Ford class carriers have been built to be larger compared to their predecessors, the Nimitz class, weighing about 100,000 tonnes. For their size, they carry between 500 and 900 fewer men compared to previous carriers with advanced automation and new technologies. These carriers are fitted with 23 new or upgraded systems that should contribute to a 30% reduction in maintenance as well as greatly reduced workload for the crew.
General Atomics’s Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) is one of the major innovations aboard the Gerald R Ford class. Gone are the steam catapults, replaced instead by the EMALS system with its finer aircraft acceleration control and increased launch envelope for not just future manned but also unmanned aircraft. Advanced arresting gear, also developed by General Atomics, uses electromagnetic motors to reduce peak loads on the arrestor hook and aircraft fuselage.
The Gerald R Ford class is capable of accommodating up to 90 aircraft, like the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, EA-18G Growler, MH-60R/S helicopters, and various types of unmanned aerial vehicles. It has a newly designed flight deck that can support a higher sortie generation rate of 160 sorties per day, surging up to 220 sorties in periods of high-intensity air warfare.
Aircraft carriers have enjoyed a very contentious strategic position since they began service with Air Forces regarding them as “carriers represent the heresy of air power outside their control” and to the armies and politicians as capital-intensive assets diverting funds from other priorities. Notwithstanding the above debates, aircraft carriers remain one of the mighty naval weapons and have been described as “100,000 tons of naval diplomacy.”
The missions of aircraft carriers have changed much since the inception of aircraft carriers in the early 20th century. From “Eyes of the Fleet” in World War II to Cavalry, Capital Ship, Nuclear Strike Platform, Geopolitical Chess Piece, and Airfield at Sea, various roles emerged to adapt to the changed strategic environment.
While much debate on the obsolescence of aircraft carriers has continued, little doubt has been raised over their strategic importance. As Professor Benbow affirms, “carriers will continue to evolve,” launching unmanned aircraft and doing so in a connected way with other naval assets. The Gerald R Ford class is yet another step in this evolutionary journey because it is bound to keep aircraft carriers relevant as a source of naval power for years in the future.