Gerald Ford Class (US)
In 1996, the U.S. Navy began working on a successor to the Nimitz class, the so-called CVNX Next-Generation Aircraft Carrier Program. In this project, the U.S. Navy considered a variety of aircraft carrier configurations, and finally determined that the new generation of aircraft carriers will still be deck catapult aircraft carriers with nuclear power as the propulsion system, with a full load displacement of about 100,000 tons, and the number of fixed-wing carrier-based aircraft will be expanded to 75. According to the requirements of the US Navy, the new aircraft carrier should be able to adapt to the requirements of the 21st century in terms of flight deck, aviation facilities, mission systems, etc., and be able to cooperate with the use of at least 2 generations of carrier-based aircraft, especially the use of unmanned combat aircraft. As a result, the Naval Shipbuilding Bureau decided not to refer to the design blueprint of the previous aircraft carrier as much as possible, and drafted the design completely from scratch, but due to the consideration of cost, risk and practicality, the US aircraft carrier configuration similar to the "George Bush" was retained.
As the first class of aircraft carriers in the United States to use computer-aided design tools CAD design, a large number of virtual image technology is applied in the design process, which can accurately simulate every design detail in the design process, and the accuracy of the actual manufacturing of each component is also greatly improved. The layout of the new aircraft carrier can still find traces of the "Nimitz" class design, but many details have been improved. The size of the flight deck is basically the same as that of the Nimitz class, but the layout on the deck has changed significantly, most notably the island with stealth capabilities. The building is more compact than the Nimitz class, moved back about tens of meters from the Nimitz class, and has a smaller overall projection area to accommodate the new dual-band radar developed by the DDX destroyer program. The carrier's fuel configuration and ammunition depot have been redesigned to use the new A1B pressurized water nuclear reactor, which generates three times the power of the Nimitz class and does not need to replace the nuclear fuel rod for 50 years of service. The new generation of power sources can generate nearly 30% more power, and the integrated combat system can flexibly adjust the configuration of shipboard facilities according to the needs of future combat missions. Thanks to the new propulsion system design, which can effectively reduce the staffing required by the power department in operation and maintenance by about half, the number of design crews is reduced by nearly 1100 compared with the "Nimitz" class, so the living conditions on the ship are correspondingly improved, not only the living space of each crew is more private, but also each cabin is equipped with a bathroom.
The lifting platforms of the new aircraft carrier were reduced to three, all on the starboard side, to improve the many inconveniences that had previously occurred in transporting carrier-based aircraft, ammunition and personnel. For the first time, the aircraft carrier was replaced by the EMALS electromagnetic catapult developed by General Atomic Energy corporation of the United States to replace the steam catapult, and the advanced aircraft recovery system was used to replace the traditional blocking cable, which provided interception power through electromagnetic means, and the computer-controlled force was applied evenly during the interception period, and there was no longer a need to adjust heavy objects to intercept carrier-based aircraft of different weights. After these modifications, the aircraft carrier can reach 220 theoretical take-off and landing sorties per day, far exceeding the 160 times of the Nimitz class. The carrier uses advanced detection, electronic warfare systems, and C4I equipment to meet the requirements of the U.S. Navy's future IT-21 networked operations. In terms of self-defense weapons, designers equipped the aircraft carrier with a "dense array" close defense system, a RIM-116 "Ram" short-range air defense missile system, a RIM-162 "Sea Sparrow" air defense missile system, etc. There are reports that the aircraft carrier may also install electromagnetic guns and even laser cannons in the future, but there is no sufficient evidence to support it.
The U.S. Congress allocated $8.1 billion in fiscal year 2008 to allow the construction of a new type of aircraft carrier. In early September 2008, the U.S. Navy signed a $5.16 billion follow-on contract with Huntington Ingles Industries and construction began in November 2009 at the Newport News Shipyard. In October 2013, the carrier was successfully launched, and was subsequently named Gerald Ford, and is scheduled to be delivered to the Navy in September 2015 to replace the Enterprise, which has been in service for more than half a century. The GERALD Ford cost $13.7 billion to develop and build, making it the most expensive ship ever built by the U.S. Navy. Construction of the second ship was originally scheduled to begin in 2012, but due to the direct impact of the 2008 global financial tsunami, the newly appointed Obama administration decided to postpone construction until 2013 and reduce the initial investment in 2010. It wasn't until May 2009 that the U.S. Department of Defense signed another $374 million contract with Huntington Ingles Industries. In May 2011, the U.S. Department of Defense officially announced that the second ship would be designated "John F. Kennedy" to replace the aircraft carrier of the same name that was retired from the U.S. Navy in 2007. In December 2012, the day the USS Enterprise was decommissioned, the U.S. Navy officially announced that it would name the third Ford-class "Enterprise".
On February 2, 2019, the US media disclosed that the US Navy and Huntington Ingles Industries have signed a contract to build two more aircraft carriers. The two new carriers were redesigned to accommodate F-35C Lightning II fighters, the Mk.38 naval gun system, and the ability to be equipped with the shipboard MQ-25 Stingray unmanned aerial refueling tanker. At present, the Gerald Ford entered service with the U.S. Navy in July 2017, while the John F. Kennedy is under construction and plans to replace the Nimitz aircraft carrier after commissioning, and the construction of the third ship, Enterprise, is still in preparation and is scheduled to start around 2021.
