This is the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Gerald Ford (CVN-78), the largest warship ever built by man.
Ford-class aircraft carriers: 337 meters long, 77 meters wide (deck) 41 meters (waterline), 12 meters draft, displacement standard 101,600 tons full load 112,000 tons.
Forty-five years ago, on May 3, 1975, the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN-68) was commissioned as the first Nimitz-class aircraft carrier.
Above, the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower on sea trials (CVN-69, the second Nimitz-class).
On July 22, 2017, the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) was commissioned, the first of the supercarriers known as the Ford class, replacing the older Nimitz-class carriers.
When the U.S. Navy sends an aircraft carrier to spy on a country, that country feels no less than if it were surrounded by heavy forces on land, because the presence of an aircraft carrier means air superiority, and in modern warfare, the loss of one side’s skies is essentially the fate of a hanged man.
For the past 40 years or so, the Nimitz-class aircraft carriers have been the most powerful strikers in the U.S. Navy, and now its kingship has been handed over to the up-and-coming Ford-class!
Come see how huge it is!
Construction began on August 11, 2005, at the Newport News Shipyard in Virginia. 5,000 shipbuilders worked around the clock to build the 100,000-ton behemoth.
When completed, the Ford will accommodate 508 officers and 3,789 embarked crew members, for a total of 4,297 people. It will accommodate at least 75 aircraft/helicopters (or more).
The ship has two independent nuclear reactors powering four propellers, giving it a top speed of more than 30 knots, and four propellers weighing 30 tons each.
The carrier is painted in the U.S. Navy’s standard “Gray Mist” color, which uses enough paint to paint the White House 250 times.
It will cost $10 billion to build a Ford class, not counting the $4 billion in preliminary research and design.
But it was money well spent, because it will serve the U.S. Navy for 50 years, ensuring the U.S. Navy’s maritime supremacy.
One of the major changes to the Ford-class carriers is the use of a new electromagnetic ejection system (EMALS).
The biggest advantage over traditional steam catapulting is less vibration, less damage to the aircraft on board, and reduced maintenance costs for the aircraft.
Do not underestimate this maintenance cost, modern warplanes are far more expensive than you can imagine, an F-35 single price close to 100 million dollars, a Ford-class service 50 years, the rest of the aircraft maintenance costs are astronomical.
The Ford class is equipped with defensive weaponry including ESSM (Improved Sea Sparrow Missile), Mk-15 Dense Array CIWS (Close Range Weapon System).
The U.S. Navy expects to build 10-12 Ford-class aircraft carriers, which are expected to cost $13 billion each, given the rising costs.
Recent Comments