The feasibility of building supercarriers is questionable, because the cost of the Gerald R. Ford-class supercarrier, which is still under construction, has already exceeded $ 13 billion, even if the remaining aircraft carriers of this series are cheaper, aircraft carriers will still be super expensive.
After all, for the same money it is possible to build 10-15 light aircraft carriers of the "Sea Control Ship" class, with vertical take-off aircraft. It is clear that it is much easier to destroy a light aircraft carrier than a supercarrier, but the losses against the background of the naval group will be less noticeable than the loss of a heavy aircraft carrier. But the first reason why light aircraft carriers did not go into a wide series was the impossibility of using long-range radar detection and control aircraft from them, which led to the impossibility of detecting enemy missiles and aircraft at a safe distance. This meant that one supercarrier would win the battle against a group of light aircraft carriers.
Against the background of the fact that Russia is introducing heavy nuclear missile cruisers, a second reason is obvious that supercarriers will develop and be in the ranks of the US fleet. TARKR project 1144 "Orlan" can easily cope with a light aircraft carrier, and it is obvious that a counterweight to Russian heavy nuclear missile cruisers can only be supercarriers of the Nimitz type or a heavy aircraft carrier of the Gerald R. Ford type under construction.
The third reason for the existence and development of supergiants is still politics. A state armed with such ultra-modern and super-giant aircraft carriers can dictate its terms to many states that do not have alternative weapons or protection against them, it is no secret that in almost all recent wars and military conflicts, an aircraft carrier strike group of the United States of America took part.
The Carrier Strike Group is the main naval grouping of the US Navy. She embodied the best solutions to fulfill the assigned tasks at sea.
The composition of the aircraft carrier strike group:
- one heavy nuclear-powered aircraft carrier of the Nimitz class;
- one or two missile cruisers "Ticonderoga";
- two or three Orly Burke-class destroyers;
- two or three atomic multipurpose submarines of the Virginia class;
- one high-speed universal supply transport of the "Sacramento" type.
Out of the entire strike group, we are most interested in the Nimitz-class supercarrier, let's consider its characteristics and its armament:
- length 333 meters;
- displacement 98 235 tons;
- the width of the flight deck is 76-78 meters;
- speed 56 km / h;
- two A4W reactors with a capacity of 280,000 hp;
- four diesel engines with a capacity of 10720 hp;
- four aircraft feed elevators;
- a team of 3200 + 2480 air wing people;
- the service life of the ship is more than 50 years;
- the operating time of nuclear fuel is 20 years.
All heavy aircraft carriers of the "Nimitz" type are practically similar in design, but slightly differ in the number of aircraft on board, electronic weapons and various additional systems.
The hull of the aircraft carriers is made of welded steel sheets, the flight deck and main supporting structures are made of armored steel, and there are more than 4,000 different rooms on the ship.
The ship's defensive armament - four 20-mm Vulcan-Phalanx anti-aircraft artillery systems and three Sea Sparrow anti-aircraft missile systems - are intended mainly for self-defense. wake trail.
The control and radar complexes include SATCOM satellite communication stations, control stations with digital communication lines, detection radar stations, jamming and electronic warfare stations, anti-aircraft missile systems control stations, the TAKAN navigation system to provide all aircraft based on it with accurate location data 150 miles in diameter.
The air wing consists of 78 different aircraft and helicopters:
- 36 fighter-bombers F / A-18 "Hornet";
- 20 F-14 Tomcat fighters;
- four EA-6B "Prowler" electronic warfare aircraft;
- 8 Viking anti-submarine aircraft;
- four aircraft for early warning and control E-2C "Hawkeye";
- two rescue helicopters NN-60N "Sea Hawk";
- four anti-submarine helicopters SH-60F "SiVi Helo";
Fighters have 9-11 suspensions (four under the wing, two at the ends of the wing, and three to five under the fuselage) and can carry 6-8 tons of weapons:
- air-to-air missiles AIM-9 "Sidewinder";
- anti-ship missiles SLAM-modified "Harpoon";
- air-to-air missiles AIM-120 "AMRAAM";
- supersonic anti-radar missiles AGM-88 "HARM";
- tactical missiles AGM-64 "Maverick";
- gliding bombs AGM-154;
- guided aerial bombs JDAM;
- cluster bombs CBU-87;
- Paveway laser guided air bombs;
- electronic warfare modules;
- guidance modules AN / AAS-38 "NiteHawk".
A total of ten heavy aircraft carriers of the "Nimitz" class were built, here they are:
Aircraft carrier "Nimitz"
Aircraft carrier Dwight Eisenhower
Aircraft carrier "Karl Vinson"
Aircraft carrier "Theodore Roosevelt"
Aircraft carrier "Abraham Lincoln"
Aircraft carrier "George Washington"
USS John C. Stennis
Aircraft carrier "Harry Truman"
Aircraft carrier "Ronald Reagan"
Aircraft carrier "George Bush"
Heavy aircraft carriers can be used as a floating airfield for aircraft performing various combat missions. This is another big plus for the development and further use of heavy aircraft carriers in the armed forces. Aircraft carriers are not only huge warships, but also the pride of their state and fleet.
