On November 9, at Newport News Shipbuilding (Newport News, Virginia), the launching ceremony of the new American aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) will take place. Construction of the lead ship of the same name began in 2009 and will soon enter its final stages. The introduction of the aircraft carrier into the US Navy is scheduled for 2016. In the future, the Pentagon is going to build two more ships of this type.
The aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford is one of the most important US military projects in recent times. This attitude towards the ship is primarily due to the fact that for the first time since the sixties, American shipbuilding has created and is implementing such a large project. The Nimitz-class aircraft carriers currently in the Navy were built in accordance with a project developed in the sixties. Since then, the project has been repeatedly refined before the construction or modernization of ships, but has not undergone significant changes. The ships of the Gerald R. Ford class, the first of which will soon be launched, are being built according to a new design, created in accordance with the current requirements of the naval forces.
One of the most interesting features of the new project is the approach to equipping ships with various equipment. Thus, in terms of its dimensions and displacement, the Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier is almost indistinguishable from its predecessors of the Nimitz class. A ship with a total displacement of about 100 thousand tons has a length of over 330 meters and a maximum width of 78 meters along the flight deck. At the same time, internal equipment, electronic equipment, weapons, etc. the new aircraft carrier can be considered a big step forward. It is argued that the use of a number of new systems will significantly reduce the ship's crew, but at the same time increase the intensity of the air wing's combat work by at least 30%. The consequence of the latter will be an increase in the combat effectiveness of the ship.
The higher characteristics of the new aircraft carrier in comparison with those currently in operation are due to the use of two A1B nuclear reactors, developed specifically for the aircraft-carrying ships of the new project. If necessary, such a power plant can deliver power 25% higher than the maximum power of the reactors of the aircraft carriers "Nimitz". At the same time, the labor intensity of reactor maintenance has been halved. The A1B twin-reactor power plant is the first of its type to require no refueling during service. The new reactors are designed in such a way that the nuclear fuel will last for the entire 50 years during which the aircraft carrier will serve. Thanks to this, among other things, the safety of the ship's operation is increased, since all radioactive materials from the moment of loading and until the decommissioning of the aircraft carrier will be in a sealed volume.
The use of a more powerful power plant made it possible to equip the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford with EMALS electromagnetic catapults. With the help of new catapults, the aircraft carrier will be able to provide the normal intensity of aviation flights at the level of 160 sorties per day. For comparison, modern Nimitz-class aircraft carriers can only provide 120 sorties per day. If necessary, the promising aircraft carrier will be able to increase the intensity of flights up to 220 sorties per day.
The main element of the Gerald R. Ford radio-electronic system will be the DRB radar system. It includes the Raytheon AN / SPY-3 multifunctional radar and the Lockheed Martin VSR surveillance radar. Similar electronic equipment is supposed to be installed on the new destroyers of the Zumwalt project. It is assumed that the VSR radar will be used to monitor the air situation and target designation to aircraft or ships. The second radar station, AN / APY-3, is intended not only for reviewing or tracking targets, but also for controlling some types of weapons.
When designing a new aircraft carrier, the experience gained during the operation of the previous ones was taken into account. In this regard, the layout of the hangar deck was changed. Thus, the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford has a two-section hangar deck. To lift aircraft to the flight deck, the ship received three elevators instead of the four used on aircraft carriers of the previous type.
According to official data, the new aircraft carrier will be able to transport and provide combat operations for over 75 aircraft of several types. Initially, the main striking force of the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford will be the F / A-18E / F Super Hornet aircraft. Over time, they will be joined, and then replaced, by the newest F-35C. The composition of aircraft for early warning radar, electronic warfare, as well as helicopters for various purposes will remain the same. In addition, it is planned to place several types of unmanned aerial vehicles on the new aircraft carrier. In the distant future, such a technique may squeeze manned airplanes and helicopters.
For the air defense and missile defense of the ship, the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford will be equipped with anti-aircraft missile systems RIM-116 RAM and RIM-162 ESSM. Such weapons will allow the ship to intercept dangerous targets at ranges of up to 50 km. In addition, several anti-aircraft artillery systems will be installed on the aircraft carrier to protect against threats in the near zone.
At the moment, all the main structures of the new aircraft carrier have been assembled and the final stage of construction and equipment will begin soon. After the ship is commissioned, scheduled for 2016, the US Navy will again have 11 aircraft carriers. In 2012, after the aircraft carrier Enterprise (CVN-65) was decommissioned, the number of ships of this class was reduced to 10. In the future, it is planned to transfer the structure of the aircraft carrier fleet to the permanent use of 10 ships.
In September, the research service of the US Congress published new data regarding the financial side of the construction of aircraft carriers. According to the service, the construction of the Gerald R. Ford cost the budget $ 12.8 billion (at current prices). At the same time, the financing of the construction was fully completed back in 2011 and since then no funds have been allocated for the new ship. To compensate for the growth in the cost of individual components and works in 2014 and 2015 financial years, it is planned to additionally allocate about 1.3 billion.
In the short term, the US Navy will place an order for the construction of a second Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier, which will be named John F. Kennedy. The laying of the second ship is scheduled for next year. During 2014-2018, it is expected to spend about $ 11.3 billion on construction, 944 million of which will be allocated in the first year of construction. In 2018, it is planned to sign a contract according to which the shipbuilding industry will build a third aircraft carrier of the same type (there is information about its name - Enterprise). The cost of this ship in 2014 fiscal year prices is estimated at 13.9 billion.
The Pentagon's plans for the next ten years include the construction of only three aircraft carriers of a new type. The service life of these ships will be 50 years. What projects the American shipbuilding will be engaged in after 2023, when it is planned to launch the Enterprise, is still unknown. By that time, it is possible to update an existing project or start work on a new one. One way or another, over the next 10-12 years, the United States naval forces will receive three new aircraft carriers, which are superior in their characteristics to the ships currently in use.
Like any other expensive and ambitious project, the construction of new aircraft carriers has come under heavy criticism. In light of the latest cuts in the military budget, the construction of such expensive ships looks at least ambiguous. For example, the retired US Navy officer G. Hendricks, who is a consistent opponent of modern aircraft carriers, regularly makes the following argument against the newest ships. The last of the Nimitz-class aircraft carriers cost the Treasury approximately $ 7 billion. The flagship Gerald R. Ford will eventually cost nearly double. At the same time, the normal intensity of flights, provided by an electromagnetic catapult, will be only 160 sorties per day against 120 for the Nimitz. In other words, the new aircraft carrier is twice as expensive as the old one, but the increase in combat effectiveness, expressed in the number of possible sorties, is only 30%. It should be noted that with the maximum load on the electrical systems, Gerald R. Ford can provide 220 sorties per day, but even this does not allow achieving a proportional increase in combat effectiveness.
The authors of the project of new aircraft carriers regularly mentioned that the operation of these ships will cost less than the use of existing ones. However, operating savings will not immediately have an impact on the financial side of the project. The main reason for this is the double the cost of building ships. In addition, it should not be forgotten that aircraft carriers operate as part of carrier strike groups (AUG), which also include ships of other classes. As of the beginning of 2013, the operation of one AUG cost about $ 6.5 million daily. Thus, savings in the operation of aircraft carriers may not have a significant impact on the overall financial performance of the corresponding formations of the US Navy.
Another financial problem is the aviation grouping. During the first years, the F / A-18E / F fighter-bombers will be the backbone of the strike aviation of the new aircraft carriers. In the future, they will be replaced by the latest F-35C. A characteristic unpleasant feature of both variants of the composition of the air group is the actual cost of sorties. According to G. Hendrix's calculations, the entire life cycle of F / A-18 aircraft, including the cost of construction and pilot training, costs the military department about $ 120 million. Over the past ten years, the US Navy carrier-based aviation, participating in various conflicts, has used about 16 thousand bombs and missiles of various types. Thus, the average amount of ammunition used by each of the operating F / A-18 aircraft over ten years is 16 units. From the cost of the life cycle of the machines, it follows that each bomb drop or rocket launch cost the taxpayers $ 7.5 million. The cost of building and operating the latest carrier-based F-35C aircraft will be significantly higher than similar parameters of modern technology. In this regard, the average cost of one bomb drop can increase significantly.
Thus, it is already safe to say that one of the most ambitious American projects of recent times will also be one of the most expensive. Moreover, there are reasons to doubt that the applied measures aimed at saving through a number of new systems, etc., will significantly affect the overall economic performance of the project. Nonetheless, building new aircraft carriers - even if they are prohibitively expensive - will allow the US Navy to increase its combat capabilities and ensure the ability to carry out combat missions over the next 50 years.
