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Arsenal/Aircraft carrier/USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78)
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United States · Active

USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78)

Nuclear-powered aircraft carrier

Lead ship of America’s newest carrier class, introducing EMALS and Advanced Arresting Gear while targeting higher sortie rates with a smaller crew.

Introduced2017
Speed30+ knots
RangeEffectively unlimited by propulsion
CrewApprox. 4,500+ with air wing
Platform profile

Technical overview

Manufacturer
Newport News Shipbuilding
Primary role
Nuclear-powered aircraft carrier
Dimensions
337 m length · 78 m flight-deck beam
Operators
United States Navy
Variants
Gerald R. Ford class · CVN-78
Operational status
Active
Complete platform dossier

USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) details

Identity

Full name
USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78)
Navy
United States Navy
Class
Gerald R. Ford class
Type
Nuclear-powered aircraft carrier
Namesake
U.S. President Gerald R. Ford
Commissioned
22 July 2017
Status
Active
Homeport
Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia
Builder
Newport News Shipbuilding

Operational roles

  • Carrier air-power projection
  • Fleet air defence
  • Maritime strike
  • Command and control
  • Humanitarian assistance and disaster response

Ship and class

CVN-78
USS Gerald R. Ford, lead ship of the class
Class role
Newest generation of U.S. nuclear supercarrier

Performance

Length
Approximately 337 m
Flight-deck beam
Approximately 78 m
Full-load displacement
Approximately 100,000 long tons
Maximum speed
30+ knots (55+ km/h)
Decks
More than 20 levels

Propulsion

  • 2 × Bechtel A1B nuclear reactors
  • Nuclear-powered steam turbines
  • Reactor refuelling intended only during major mid-life work

Endurance and design

  • Propulsion range is effectively unlimited
  • Endurance is limited principally by food, aviation fuel, ammunition and maintenance
  • Designed for higher sortie rates with a smaller crew than the Nimitz class

Flight-deck systems

  • 4 × Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) catapults
  • Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG)
  • Systems designed to launch and recover a wider range of aircraft

Defensive systems

Missiles
Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) and Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM)
Close-in defence
Phalanx CIWS
Electronic defence
Electronic-warfare and countermeasure systems

Embarked air wing

Typical capacity
Approximately 75 aircraft, mission dependent
Fixed-wing aircraft
F-35C, F/A-18E/F, EA-18G, E-2D and CMV-22B
Rotary-wing aircraft
MH-60R/S helicopters

Strengths

  • World’s largest warship class by displacement
  • EMALS and AAG support flexible air operations
  • High sortie-generation design
  • Nuclear endurance
  • Reduced crew requirement compared with Nimitz-class design targets

Limitations

  • Extremely high construction and lifecycle cost
  • Complex new launch and recovery technologies
  • Large logistics and escort requirements despite nuclear propulsion

Operators and customers

United States Navy

Interesting facts

  1. Lead ship of America’s newest carrier class.
  2. Introduced EMALS and AAG into operational U.S. carrier service.
  3. Carries the name of U.S. President Gerald R. Ford.