is home-ported at Naval Station Norfolk,
Virginia. CVN 77 serves as the lagship
for CSG-2.Ford class
Originally referred to as the CVNX-1 and
then as CVN-21, design of the newest
class of aircraft carriers was begun in- The US Navy awarded Northrop
Grumman Shipbuilding Newport News
— now the Newport News Shipbuilding
dvision of Huntington Ingalls Industries
— a $5.1-billion contract to begin detail
design and construction of the irst ship
of the Gerald R. Ford class on September
10, 2008. The lead ship in the US Navy’s
newest class of aircraft carrier features
many improvements over the earlier
Nimitz-class design.
CVN 78 boasts a larger light deck
design that includes just three aircraft
elevators and an improved weapons
handling system. Sortie generation
is improved by an electro-magnetic
aircraft launch system (EMALS) that
replaces earlier C-13 Mod 1 and Mod 2
steam-driven catapults, while an electric
motor-based advanced arresting gear
(AAG) system replaces the older Mk7
hydraulic arresting system installed
in the Nimitz class. The ships will be
capable of generating 160 sorties per
day (on a 12-hour ly day) and to surge
to 270 sorties per day (on a 24-hour ly
day) as compared to the Nimitz class,
which has the capability to generate 120
sorties per day or surge to 240 sorties for
a 24-hour light schedule.
The island structure of these ships has
been relocated 100ft (30.5m) further
aft and is equipped with the AN/
SPY-3 phased-array dual-band radar
(DBR). New and simpliied nuclear
propulsion plants and electrical power
generation systems are incorporated,
allowing the ship to operate with a
smaller crew. Each of the ships will be
powered by two A1B nuclear reactors
that can generate 300MW (megawatts)
of electricity, compared to the 100MW
of the earlier Nimitz-class A4W
reactors. Increased space for light deck
operations and aircraft maintenance is
provided. The US Navy plans to build 11
Ford-class aircraft carriers by 2058.Dry-dock in Virginia on September 7,
- The carrier, which is named to
honor the nation’s 33rd president, was
commissioned on July 25, 1998. CVN 75
is home-ported at Naval Station Norfolk,
Virginia, and is the lagship of CSG-8. The
Truman completed a deployment to the
US 5th and 6th Fleet areas of operations
on July 21, 2018.
USS Ronald Reagan
(CVN 76)
Named in honor of America’s 40th
president, CVN 76’s construction began
at Newport News Shipbuilding when the
keel was laid on February 12, 1998. The
ship was christened on March 4, 2001
and commissioned on July 12, 2003. It
completed a homeport change from
NAS North Island in Coronado, California
to Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan, in
October 2015, CVN 76 is the lagship of
CSG-5. The Reagan inished a two-month
patrol in support of the US 7th Fleet on
July 24, 2018.
USS George H. W. Bush
(CVN 77)
The keel for the last ship in the Nimitz
class was laid on September 6, 2003
and the ship was christened on
October 7, 2006. CVN 77 was originally
planned as the irst ship in a new class
that was originally referred to as the
CVNX-1, and features several changes
over its predecessors. These include
a redesigned island structure and
modernized aircraft launch and recovery
equipment. The ship, which is named
in honor of the 41st president, was
commissioned on January 10, 2009 and
Above: USS
Abraham Lincoln
(CVN 72) transits
the Atlantic Ocean
during a tailored
ship’s training
availability and
final evaluation
problem (TSTA/
FEP). US Navy/
MCS2C Shane
BryanBelow: The new
carrier USS Gerald
R. Ford (CVN 78)
steams along
in the Atlantic
Ocean. US Navy/
MCS3C Mathew R.
Fairchildhttp://www.combataircraft.net // October 2018 37