Features
Carriers of the Ford class will incorporate design features including:
- Advanced arresting gear.
- Automation, which reduces crew requirements by several hundred from the Nimitz class carrier.
- The updated RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow missile system.
- AN/SPY-3 dual-band radar (DBR), as developed for Zumwalt class destroyers.
- An Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) in place of traditional steam catapults for launching aircraft.
- A new nuclear reactor design (the A1B reactor) for greater power generation.
- Stealthier features to help reduce radar profile.
- The ability to launch the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, EA-18G Growler, C-2 Greyhound, E-2 Hawkeye and the F-35C Lightning II.
The US Navy believes that with the addition of the most modern equipment and extensive use of automation, it will be able to reduce the crew requirement and the total cost of future aircraft carriers. The primary recognition feature compared to earlier supercarriers will be the more aft location of the navigation "island." The relocation of the "island" will enable the carrier to sustain 140–160 sorties per day with a surge capability of 220 sorties.
Read more about this topic: Gerald R. Ford Class Aircraft Carrier
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