US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Julio Martinez Martinez
President Donald Trump took part in the commissioning of the USS Gerald R. Ford on Saturday, ushering in the first new aircraft carrier design in four decades to the US Navy with in “100,000-ton message to the world,” according to Trump.
The Ford will join the US Navy’s 10 Nimitz-class flat-top aircraft carriers, which are already the envy of the world. But while the Ford looks much like its predecessors, it has key technological advances that shine a light on what US military planners envision as the future of naval warfare.
Named after President Gerald Ford, the $ 12.9 billion titan is the first of four planned ships in its class. In the slides below, see how the Fords improve on America’s already imposing fleet of aircraft carriers.
New reactor and an all-electric ship.
US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Julio Martinez Martinez
The new Ford class carriers will feature an improved nuclear reactor with three times the power-generation capacity as the Nimitz class.
This outsized power-generation capacity provides the Fords an opportunity to grow into new technologies that come up during their service life.
With ample power to draw from, the Fords could one day house directed-energy weapons like the Navy’s upcoming railgun.
Watch an F-35 seamlessly take off using an Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS).
The Nimitz class cruisers use an elaborate steam-powered launch system to send F/A-18s and other planes on their way, but the Ford class, drawing on its huge power-generation capacity, will use an electronic system to do the same.
Not only will the EMALS launch heavier planes, but it will also carefully launch planes in order to reduce wear and tear. Additionally, the increased capacity of these launchers to make planes airborne will allow new plane designs in the future.
Example of a steam-powered launch:
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
