The aircraft carriers, which form the backbone of the United States naval forces, are sent to those regions where it is necessary to either represent or defend the interests of the country. The Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, the coast of Yugoslavia, and the African coast can be such "hot" spots. One of the most important representatives of this type of ships is the aircraft carrier "Dwight Eisenhower" (uss dwight d. Eisenhower), which entered service in 1977. In 1996, a decision was made on the need for its reconstruction, as a result, after a year and a half of work, which ended in January 1998, the renewed Eisenhower was launched.
According to the captain of the ship, Gregory S. Brown, this aircraft carrier can be easily compared to a small town. And this is by no means an exaggeration. The huge ship, which at full load has a displacement of 95,000 tons, a length of almost 332 meters and a width of 78.5 meters, carries 85 aircraft and 4 helicopters on board. In addition, the Eisenhower is equipped with S-3 - Viking aircraft. And in the event of a possible start of hostilities, the number of aircraft can be increased to 100 units. The number of the crew in this case can be 6,287 sailors, pilots and service personnel, while usually a ship is manned by a crew of 4,700 people.
As for the interior of the ship, it is not easy even for crew members to navigate through its numerous corridors, therefore, for ease of movement, special coordinates are indicated on its walls, which are combinations of letters and numbers corresponding to the location of a particular object.
The amount of food prepared on board the aircraft carrier during each sailing day looks no less impressive. Every day, it prepares more than 20,000 meals, 450 hot dogs, 2,800 hamburgers, bakes 700 loaves of bread, eats 3,840 eggs, drinks 552 gallons of milk and 6,900 cans of soda. In addition, 400,000 gallons of fresh water are produced, which is also a daily requirement. A newspaper is published on board, and with the help of the TVs installed here, you can find out about all the news happening in the world, as well as get acquainted with the weather forecast.
In addition to television receivers, information on board the ship can come from radars, sonars, satellites and aircraft. All of it is analyzed on the captain's bridge. The captain, having received, for example, a map of the berth of interest with the help of magnification, can immediately receive information about the length of the piers and the exact location of the ships, and at the same time observe the entire space surrounding the object, both sea and air.
The aircraft carrier is protected by the Vulcan Phalanx computer-controlled installation. Its rate of fire is 4,500 rounds per minute, and it is designed to destroy enemy missiles. The ship is equipped with two nuclear reactors that generate enough energy (in theory) to be enough for the ship to be at sea continuously for 18 years, but in reality, the aircraft carrier has a continuous sailing time of 6 months.
During the period of one voyage alone, the Eisenhower makes about 7,000 sorties. Pilot training is first carried out on land, on a specially equipped model of the deck of an aircraft carrier. Then the pilots land directly on the deck of the aircraft carrier with the obligatory presence of an instructor, and only after that they land alone, focusing on a system of lights painted in different colors and indicating a certain height. According to the adopted instructions, during the final stage of landing, complete radio silence is observed for several minutes.
Boarding an aircraft aboard an aircraft carrier is a tricky business, as its deck is not long enough for the aircraft to pass and stop. In addition, pilots also need to consider the movement of the ship and the direction of the air flow. When landing, the plane descends so low that it almost glides on the deck. During the Eisenhower exercise, landings are made every 37 seconds, after which the aircraft is immediately removed from the landing strip. The entire landing process is recorded on videotape in order to subsequently undergo detailed analysis. This makes it possible to maximize the actions of the pilots.
In conclusion, it must be said that the maintenance of such "universal machines" as aircraft carriers costs the American taxpayers $ 440 million a year, and the construction of a new ship of this type - $ 4.4 billion. However, despite such astronomical sums, today more and more countries are striving to have aircraft-carrying ships in their fleets, even if not as large-scale as Dwight Eisenhower.
The Dwight D. Eisenhower CVN-69 nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is the second in a series of Nimitz-class nuclear-powered ships | Laid down at Newport NEWS Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company Aug 14, 1970 | Launched on October 11, 1975 | Commissioned on October 18, 1977.
Specifications
The total displacement today is about 100,000 tons | The greatest length is 331.7 m | Length at the waterline 317.1 m | Flight deck width 78.5 m | Width at the waterline 40.8 m | Draft 11.2 m | Main nuclear power plant (2 reactors, 4 steam turbines, 260,000 hp) | The speed is about 30 knots.
Armament
3x8 launchers of the Sea Sparrow anti-aircraft missile system; 3 20-mm six-barreled artillery mounts "Vulcan-Falanx".
Aircraft armament
20 F-14A fighters, 36 F / A-18 fighters / attack aircraft, 4 EA-6B electronic warfare aircraft, 4 E-2C early warning aircraft, 4 S-3A anti-submarine defense aircraft, 4 SH-60F helicopters. A total of 68 aircraft and 4 helicopters. It can receive a maximum of 80-90 aircraft of various types.
The crew is about 6,000 people. (including air personnel).
Combat merit
After commissioning, he entered the Atlantic Fleet. After 14 months of training the crew and the air group, he left for the first trip to the Mediterranean (1979). Patrolled in the Arabian Sea. To do this, he made a transition from the United States around Africa from April 16 to May 8, 1980 and returned to Norfolk only on December 22, 1980. This was the longest long voyage of an American ship in the entire post-war period - 251 days with the only 5-day stay in Singapore. After the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, he was sent to the Persian Gulf, but on the way there on August 22, 1990, in connection with the arrival of other aircraft carriers in the Arabian Sea, was returned to the United States. Thus, he did not take direct part in Operation Desert Storm, but was on combat duty in the Arabian Sea shortly after its end (from September 26, 1991 to April 2, 1992).
On September 12-13, 1994, together with the American aircraft carrier, he made a cruise to the shores of Haiti in connection with the alleged invasion of this country (the operation was canceled).
In October 1994, he went on a 6-month voyage to provide combat training for 400 female military personnel. In total, by 2001, he made 8 trips to the Mediterranean Sea.
USA
In November 1961, the first aircraft carrier with a nuclear power plant, the CVAN-65 Enterprise, was commissioned into the US Navy. It completely lacked artillery and missile weapons - its defense was entrusted to its own aircraft. Astronomical for those times, the amount of 450 million dollars spent on its construction, left it the only one in its series.
The first ship of the new series of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers of the Nimitz type was laid down in 1968. His brothers and at the moment continue to be the largest warships in the world.
The next ship of the "Nimitz" series does not yet have a name, and in the documentation it passes under the designation CVN-77. Although this ship is nominally considered the 10th in the series, by its design it will occupy a transitional position between the Nimitz and the promising CVX aircraft carriers, which will form the basis of the United States' naval power in the 21st century.
CVN-77 will have a completely updated electronic equipment and combat information management system. Instead of the usual "island", it is planned to install one or two small prismatic superstructures on the ship, designed to minimize their effective scattering area (ESR) - to reduce radar signature, and the antennas will be replaced with phased arrays located on the side walls of the superstructures. For the same purposes, aircraft lifts, in all likelihood, will again become deck-mounted, and not airborne, as on all post-war ships.
Such promising aircraft carriers of the 21st century as the CVX-78 and CVX-79 should become completely new ships altogether. It is not excluded that they will switch to turbines instead of nuclear fuel. A novelty should be both electromagnetic catapults and electromagnetic landing devices, which will replace conventional catapults and aerofinishers. In parallel, promising aircraft for arming these ships are being developed.
The CVX-78 is slated to be laid down in 2006 and commissioned in 2013. CVX-79, respectively - in 2011 and 2018. The service life of these aircraft carriers is set at 50 years. Currently, the command of the US Navy believes that the fleet should have at least 10 aircraft carriers in service.
United Kingdom
In July 1973, the first post-war British aircraft carrier, Invincible, was laid down. This ship, which entered service in 1980, had a unique aircraft armament, consisting of vertical takeoff / landing aircraft (VTOL) "Harrier" and a rather unusual look for a classic aircraft carrier. Its take-off deck closer to the bow ended with a large springboard with an installation angle of 70, designed for the VTOL aircraft to take off not only vertically, but also with a short takeoff run. This made it possible to significantly increase the weight of the weapons with which the aircraft can take off. A total of three aircraft carriers of this type were built - "Invincible", "Illastries" and "Arc Royal". These ships became the ancestors of a completely new type of aircraft carriers - VTOL carriers, or aircraft carriers for aircraft with vertical / short takeoff / landing. At the moment, they form the basis of the British naval power, although they cannot be compared with the strike aircraft carriers of the US Navy - five times less displacement and only from 14 to 16 VTOL aircraft against 80-90 "normal" aircraft. Two ships are constantly in the combat composition of the British fleet, while the third is put into reserve for scheduled repairs or modernization. According to preliminary plans, they should remain in service until 2010-2012.
At present, the development of a project of aircraft carriers is underway to replace the aircraft carriers of the "Illastries" type. Most likely, on this ship will be based all the same VTOL aircraft with a shortened springboard takeoff and landing on the air arrestor. In terms of its architectural and structural type, it is likely to be close to the Russian aircraft-carrying cruisers.
India
India is pursuing a consistent policy aimed at developing its aircraft carrier fleet. In 1986, an agreement was reached with Great Britain on the purchase of the Falklands War veteran, the aircraft carrier Hermes, which became part of the Indian Navy under the name Viraat, and is still in service.
Russia
The appearance in the US Navy of nuclear submarines armed with Polaris I missiles raised the question of organizing anti-submarine defense in the far zone before the USSR Navy. For this, a ship with group-based anti-submarine helicopters was needed. Its technical design was approved in January 1962. For the early detection of submarines, a powerful hydroacoustic station was installed for the first time in the underkeel retractable fairing. The hangars of the ship housed 14 Ka-25 anti-submarine helicopters. The lead ship of the series was named "Moscow", the second - "Leningrad". By the beginning of sea trials on the "Moscow" 19 new models of weapons and technical equipment had been installed, which had not yet been adopted for service, and in 1972 the ship took on its deck the first vertical take-off and landing aircraft (VTOL). But since the ship, armed only with helicopters, could not claim ocean domination, the result was a project for a heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser. It was equipped not only with aircraft, but also with strike missile weapons. In total, 3 such ships (project 1143) were built - Kiev, Minsk and Novorossiysk, intended for group basing of 16 Yak-38 vertical take-off aircraft and 18 anti-submarine helicopters.
For the first time in the domestic fleet, the aircraft for horizontal take-off and landing was provided for the aircraft carrier of the "Riga" type (project 1143.5). Initially it was planned to install catapults, but later they were replaced by a springboard. Now this ship is the only operating aircraft carrier of the Russian fleet and bears the name "Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov", the world's best carrier-based fighters Su-33 are based on it.
The latest achievement of domestic shipbuilding was the beginning of the construction of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers under Project 1143.7. On the ship with a displacement of about 75,000 tons, it was planned to place up to 70 aircraft, two catapults, a springboard and aerofinishers, as well as an attack missile weapon consisting of 16 vertical launchers. The nuclear power plant could provide the ship with a speed of about 30 knots. But after the complete cessation of funding by the end of 1991, the ship, ready for almost a third, was cut right on the slipway.
Domestic aircraft carriers have never been classic aircraft carriers, since their main strike weapons are missiles, not airplanes and helicopters.
France
The first post-war French-built aircraft carrier "Clemenceau" entered service in November 1961, and the same type "Foch" - in July 1963. Both of them have been upgraded to host new aircraft. In 1980, it was decided to build two nuclear-powered ships, but only Charles de Gaulle, which is the only aircraft carrier in the French fleet, was built. It has an original silhouette - its "island", created with elements of "stealth" technology, is strongly shifted towards the nose. The construction of this ship, according to various sources, cost from 3, 2 to 10 billion dollars, which, in fact, led to the abandonment of plans to build the next ship.
"Chakri Nareubet" was built by the Spaniards by order of the Thai Navy on the basis of the "Principe de Asturias" project, although it is inferior to it in size. It is possible that a contract with Germany will be signed in the near future for the construction of another light aircraft-carrying ship for Thailand.
Other countries
As for the rest of the countries, countries such as South Korea, China and Japan show the greatest interest in light aircraft carriers with vertical take-off aircraft. According to some reports, studies are underway on this issue in Germany.
