Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier

*Gerald R. Ford*-class aircraft carrier
	USS Gerald R. Ford underway in April 2017
Class overview
Name	Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier
Builders	Newport News Shipbuilding
Operators	United States Navy
Preceded by	Nimitz class Enterprise-class aircraft carrier
Cost	Program cost: US$37.30 billion (FY2018); Unit cost: US$12.998 billion (FY2018);
In service	2017–present
Planned	10
On order	1
Building	2
Completed	1
Active	1
General characteristics
Type	Aircraft carrier
Displacement	About 100,000 long tons (100,000 tonnes) (full load)
Length	1,092 ft (333 m) – 1,106 ft (337 m)
Beam	256 ft (78 m) (flight deck); 134 ft (41 m) (waterline);
Height	250 feet (76 m)
Draft	39 ft (12 m)
Decks	25
Installed power	Two Bechtel A1B PWR nuclear reactors, HEU 93.5%
Propulsion	Four shafts
Speed	In excess of 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Range	Unlimited
Endurance	50-year service life
Complement	508 officers; 3,789 enlisted;
Crew	About 2,600
Sensors and ; processing systems	AN/SPY-3 Multi-Function Radar (MFR) X band active electronically scanned array; AN/SPY-4 Volume Search Radar (VSR) S band active electronically scanned array (CVN-78); AN/SPY-6 Volume Search Radar (VSR) S band active electronically scanned array (CVN-79 and up);
Electronic warfare ; & decoys	AN/SLQ-32(V)6 electronic warfare system; AN/SLQ-25C Nixie towed torpedo decoys;
Armament	Surface-to-air missiles:; 2 × Mk 29 Guided Missile Launching Systems, 8 × RIM-162 Evolved SeaSparrow Missile (ESSM) each; 2 × Mk 49 Guided Missile Launching Systems, 21 × RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missiles each; Guns:; 3 × Phalanx CIWS; 4 × Mk 38 25 mm Machine Gun Systems; 4 × M2 .50 Cal. (12.7 mm) machine guns;
Aircraft carried	75+
Aviation facilities	1,092 ft × 252 ft (333 m × 77 m) flight deck

The Gerald R. Ford-class nuclear-powered aircraft carriers are currently being constructed for the United States Navy, which intends to eventually acquire ten of these ships in order to replace current carriers on a one-for-one basis, starting with the lead ship of her class, Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), replacing Enterprise (CVN-65), and later the Nimitz-class carriers. The new vessels have a hull similar to the Nimitz class, but they carry technologies since developed with the CVN(X)/CVN-21 program,^{[N 1]} such as the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS), as well as other design features intended to improve efficiency and reduce operating costs, including sailing with smaller crews.^[15] This class of aircraft carriers is named after former U.S. President Gerald R. Ford.^[16] CVN-78 was procured in 2008 and commissioned into service on 22 July 2017. The second ship of the class, John F. Kennedy (CVN-79), is scheduled to enter service in 2025.

^ ^a ^b Cite error: The named reference fas was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Combat fleet of the world 2012
^ Keller, John (8 June 2015). "Navy awards $3.4 billion contract to Huntington Ingalls to build Ford-class aircraft carrier". Military Aerospace Electronics Magazine. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
^ McFadden, Christopher (24 June 2022). "USS Gerald R. Ford: The most advanced carrier of the US cost around $13.3 billion to build". Interesting Engineering. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
^ "Aircraft Carriers - CVN". Fact File. United States Navy. 17 September 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
^ ^a ^b "Aircraft Carriers - CVN". Fact Files. U.S. Navy Office of Information. 17 September 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
^ "Command History & Facts". Commander, Naval Air Force Atlantic. US Navy. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Aircraft Carriers – CVN". navy.mil. Department of the Navy. 16 October 2014. Archived from the original on 17 October 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
^ ^a ^b "USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78)". U.S. Carriers. US Navy. Archived from the original on 28 March 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2012.
^ Jenkins, Aric (22 July 2017). "The USS Gerald Ford Is the Most Advanced Aircraft Carrier in the World". Fortune. Archived from the original on 23 July 2017. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
^ "FY 2022 Annual Report" (PDF). Director, Operational Test and Evaluation. p. 167. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
^ Zulkifli, Muhammad; Muhammad, Fadli; Nurjanah (2021). "Strengthening Indonesia Naval Base as a Aircraft Carrier at the Frontier to Increase Power of Deterrence and State Defense at Sea" (PDF). Journal of Defense Resources Management. 12 (2): 252.
^ "US study of reactor and fuel types to enable naval reactors to shift from HEU fuel". fissilematerials.org. 10 April 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
^ "Validation of the Use of Low Enriched Uranium as a Replacement for Highly Enriched Uranium in US Submarine Reactors" (PDF). dspace.mit.edu. 19 May 2015. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
^ "CVN 78 Gerald R Ford Class". Naval technology.com. 22 December 2009. Archived from the original on 20 December 2013. Retrieved 26 March 2010.
^ McLaughlin, Elizabeth (2 March 2017). "The USS Gerald R. Ford: By the numbers". ABC News. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 26 January 2022.

Cite error: There are <ref group=N> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=N}} template (see the help page).

[fas-1] Cite error: The named reference fas was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[2] Combat fleet of the world 2012

[NavyAwards-3] Keller, John (8 June 2015). "Navy awards $3.4 billion contract to Huntington Ingalls to build Ford-class aircraft carrier". Military Aerospace Electronics Magazine. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 28 October 2015.

[Interesting_Engineering-4] McFadden, Christopher (24 June 2022). "USS Gerald R. Ford: The most advanced carrier of the US cost around $13.3 billion to build". Interesting Engineering. Retrieved 7 July 2022.

[5] "Aircraft Carriers - CVN". Fact File. United States Navy. 17 September 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2020.

[factfiles-6] "Aircraft Carriers - CVN". Fact Files. U.S. Navy Office of Information. 17 September 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2020.

[7] "Command History & Facts". Commander, Naval Air Force Atlantic. US Navy. Retrieved 8 March 2021.

[NavyFacts-8] "Aircraft Carriers – CVN". navy.mil. Department of the Navy. 16 October 2014. Archived from the original on 17 October 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2022.

[Ford_uscarriers.net-9] "USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78)". U.S. Carriers. US Navy. Archived from the original on 28 March 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2012.

[FortuneTechCommission-10] Jenkins, Aric (22 July 2017). "The USS Gerald Ford Is the Most Advanced Aircraft Carrier in the World". Fortune. Archived from the original on 23 July 2017. Retrieved 23 July 2017.

[11] "FY 2022 Annual Report" (PDF). Director, Operational Test and Evaluation. p. 167. Retrieved 19 June 2023.

[12] Zulkifli, Muhammad; Muhammad, Fadli; Nurjanah (2021). "Strengthening Indonesia Naval Base as a Aircraft Carrier at the Frontier to Increase Power of Deterrence and State Defense at Sea" (PDF). Journal of Defense Resources Management. 12 (2): 252.

[13] "US study of reactor and fuel types to enable naval reactors to shift from HEU fuel". fissilematerials.org. 10 April 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2022.

[14] "Validation of the Use of Low Enriched Uranium as a Replacement for Highly Enriched Uranium in US Submarine Reactors" (PDF). dspace.mit.edu. 19 May 2015. Retrieved 5 November 2022.

[CVN_21-16] "CVN 78 Gerald R Ford Class". Naval technology.com. 22 December 2009. Archived from the original on 20 December 2013. Retrieved 26 March 2010.

[17] McLaughlin, Elizabeth (2 March 2017). "The USS Gerald R. Ford: By the numbers". ABC News. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 26 January 2022.

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Class overview
USS Gerald R. Ford underway in April 2017
Name	Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier
Builders	Newport News Shipbuilding
Operators	United States Navy
Preceded by	Nimitz class Enterprise-class aircraft carrier
Cost	Program cost: US$37.30 billion (FY2018)^[1] Unit cost: US$12.998 billion (FY2018)^[1]
In service	2017–present
Planned	10^[2]^[3]
On order	1
Building	2
Completed	1
Active	1
General characteristics
Type	Aircraft carrier
Displacement	About 100,000 long tons (100,000 tonnes) (full load)^[5]
Length	1,092 ft (333 m)^[6] – 1,106 ft (337 m)^[7]
Beam	256 ft (78 m) (flight deck)^[8] 134 ft (41 m) (waterline)^[8]
Height	250 feet (76 m)^[4]
Draft	39 ft (12 m)^[9]
Decks	25
Installed power	Two Bechtel A1B PWR nuclear reactors, HEU 93.5%^[13]^[14]
Propulsion	Four shafts
Speed	In excess of 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)^[6]
Range	Unlimited
Endurance	50-year service life
Complement	508 officers 3,789 enlisted^[9]
Crew	About 2,600^[10]
Sensors and processing systems	AN/SPY-3 Multi-Function Radar (MFR) X band active electronically scanned array AN/SPY-4 Volume Search Radar (VSR) S band active electronically scanned array (CVN-78) AN/SPY-6 Volume Search Radar (VSR) S band active electronically scanned array (CVN-79 and up)
Electronic warfare & decoys	AN/SLQ-32(V)6 electronic warfare system^[11] AN/SLQ-25C Nixie towed torpedo decoys^[12]
Armament	Surface-to-air missiles: 2 × Mk 29 Guided Missile Launching Systems, 8 × RIM-162 Evolved SeaSparrow Missile (ESSM) each 2 × Mk 49 Guided Missile Launching Systems, 21 × RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missiles each Guns: 3 × Phalanx CIWS 4 × Mk 38 25 mm Machine Gun Systems 4 × M2 .50 Cal. (12.7 mm) machine guns
Aircraft carried	75+^[8]
Aviation facilities	1,092 ft × 252 ft (333 m × 77 m) flight deck