In the sequence of the US Navy, aircraft carriers have always been a symbol of maritime power, and there are currently up to 11 aircraft carriers in service in the US military. And all of them are nuclear-powered, and they are far ahead of the world in terms of scale and performance. This is also where the United States has the confidence to dominate the seas.
But the United States is not satisfied with the current situation, but is actively building more advanced and larger aircraft carriers. For example, the USS Kennedy, a monster with a displacement of more than 120,000 tons, represents the top technology of the US Navy, and even Russian experts believe that it is 20 years ahead of the world.
Let's start with its "tonnage". 120,000 tons of displacement, what is the concept? In simple terms, it is almost equivalent to two "Shandong ships". Such a volume means that it can carry more carrier-based aircraft, weapons and equipment, and its survivability and combat capability at sea will be greatly improved.
But then again, the construction of such a large aircraft carrier is not a joke. The U.S. Navy has spent as much as $14 billion on this aircraft carrier. This is not a small amount, and it is enough to see how much attention the US Navy attaches to the "Kennedy." And behind this huge investment is the US Navy's unwavering pursuit of global maritime supremacy.
Although the "Kennedy" has strong hardware strength, there are also worrying points. Just like its lead ship, the USS Ford, there may be technical difficulties. For example, electromagnetic catapults, weapon elevators, etc., these high-tech equipment bring powerful combat capabilities at the same time, but also bring a lot of trouble.
For example, the electromagnetic catapult, once this thing fails, it will be difficult for the carrier-based aircraft to take off and land safely, which is a fatal problem. In 2017, the USS Ford began to enter the US Navy, but it was only deployed in 2022.
During this long period of five years, the Ford's combat strength was zero, which caused the United States to be very dissatisfied with it. The most important reason is that electromagnetic catapults always have problems and cannot meet the training requirements of carrier-based aircraft. There are also a lot of faults in its weapon elevator, equipped with 11 units, and only 1 can be used normally.
It took the U.S. military five years to gradually solve these problems. And the Kennedy, as the second ship of the USS Ford, will inevitably encounter these problems.
Fortunately, the US Navy did not abandon the transformation and upgrading of the "Kennedy". The United States has spent a lot of time and money to overcome these technical difficulties one by one. It has been learned that the USS Kennedy has basically solved these problems and is ready to be put into service in the near future.
So, what are the advantages of the "Kennedy"? First of all, it will carry 75 F-35C fighters, which are the world's most advanced fifth-generation aircraft, which will greatly enhance the combat power of aircraft carriers. In addition to carrier-based aircraft, the electromagnetic catapult device of the USS Kennedy was also a highlight.
This device can realize the take-off of a fighter every 45 seconds, which greatly improves the sortie efficiency of carrier-based aircraft. Moreover, electromagnetic catapults are more reliable, safer, and easier to maintain than traditional steam catapults.
Another point is that some relevant people believe that the aircraft carrier is equipped with laser weapons, which can hit satellites and anti-missiles. That's why Russian experts say that it is at least 20 years ahead of the world. Statistically speaking, the "Kennedy" is advanced, but the mule is a horse, and it must be brought out and walked around first, and then any weapon must be tested in actual combat.
Of course, the USS Kennedy was not without opponents. In today's maritime world, Russia is a formidable existence, although the Russian army has only one "Kuznetsov" in its hands, its nuclear submarines, hypersonic missiles, are ahead of the United States, they are all killer weapons of aircraft carriers.