The White House on Monday annonced that it would be naming two of its future planned Gerald R. Ford-class nuclear powered aircraft carriers after former presidents. The USS William J. Clinton and USS George W. Bush, after the 42nd and 43rd U.S. presidents.
“Their legacies will endure through these aircraft carriers, which serve as formidable platforms dedicated to safeguarding our national security and strengthening our resolve to protect this nation against any who would threaten our freedoms and way of life,“ said Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro.
These ships will be the 5th and 6th of the Ford-class. As of writing this only one of the class exists which is the lead ship in the series USS Gerald R. Ford. Ford was named after the 38th president of the United States, who served on the light aircraft carrier Monterey in WW2 in the Pacific. The Ford-Class carrier to this day remains the largest carrier/warship ever created.
Evolution of Power : Ford-Class carrier upgrades and capabilities.
Photo by Petty Officer First Class William Spears.
What makes the Ford-class Special?
The Ford-class was created to offer a number of improvements over the Nimitz-class carrier which had been the standard for 40 years and is now being phased out, replaced by the Ford-class.What improvements make the Ford-class so special? Well let’s talk about it. Most of this info comes from testing on the only Current Ford class in use, the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78)
Improved aircraft launch and recovery systems. Specifically the EMALS or Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System replace the steam powered catapults used in the past giving fighter pilots a smoother takeoff with less maintenance. On the landing side we have the AAG or Advanced Arresting Gear which in testing so far with the Gerald R Ford has shown an increased smoothness with landing as well as the capability to catch heavier aircraft and UAVs (more in those in a bit).
To help with protecting the airspace around the carrier and its strike group the Ford Class Carriers all for the most part come equipped with the AN/SPY-/6(V)4 radar. SPY-6 for short. While the USS Gerald R. Ford has an older model and will be upgraded the future ships in the class will receive the upgraded SPY-6. This radar is one of the strongest parts of the ship giving the carrier the ability to defend against multiple threats from 360 degrees at the same time, including Hypersonic, Cruise, and ballistic missiles. It’s also highly resistant to enemy jamming efforts. The data collected can all be shared between the battle group and aircraft like the F-35 and EC-2 Hawkeye, further strengthen the groups defenses and offensive capabilities during battle. Info collected from the carrier battle groups radar and other sensors can be filtered through several different systems and processed and sent to whoever needs the info at the time. For example every CSG (carrier strike group) is going to have an Air Warfare Commander that will usually be the captain of an Aegis equipped Ticonderoga-Class Guided Missile Cruiser. His teams mission is obvious, to protect the Strike group from all manned aerial units and missiles and is one of the most important jobs in the CSG. The information taken from the carriers Radar on the Ford-class carriers can be transmitted instantly to the CIC (Combat Information Center)aboard the designated Air Warfare cruiser where the commander and his team can quickly make decisions based on that data to protect the CSG.
I mentioned above that data could be shared between the CSG and I’d like to highlight this for a moment because I think it’s important. These systems are used throughout the navy. CEC or Cooperative Engagement Capability is a network of sensors and fire control systems all working together towards a complete battlefield picture for all aircraft and surface ships. Think about a computer network. The computers can all transmit data to one another through a high speed, encrypted, wireless connection allowing all these systems to operate together towards a unified goal.
This would include systems like Aegis. Aegis is a series of radar,computers and different weapons systems that all work together be an effective missile defense system. While the carrier itself is not technically considered aegis its radar can be used to in the process to help shooting down threats. The last system I’ll mention is Link 16. Link 16 is a tactical data exchange network that allows ships and aircraft and ground forces to share a tactical picture in near real time. It supports text messages,imagery, voice through digital channel frequencies that operate using radio waves. Link 16 is being used throughout NATO for the different nations to all be able to share their view of the battlefield.this system allows,for example- the stealthy F-35C lightning with its upgraded radar to communicate with the E2-D Advanced Hawkeye who can relay the signal to the
F/A-18 (and surface ships) allowing the Lightnings to act as a sort forward observer, tracking enemy’s and preselecting targets.
Moving on. Let’s look at the main role of the carrier which is power projection through its air power. Its hanger capacity has been extended allowing it to support up to 90 aircraft of the current carrier air wing makeup. The future will likely see the navy’s workhorse F/A- 18 Super Hornet all replaced by F-35c Lightnings but for now it appears that they are running a mixture of the two mostly as a way to keep cost down if I had to guess.
Other aircraft operating from the Ford Class will be fairly standard except for a few instances. E/A-18 Growlers will remain a huge part of the carrier air wing being the electronic Warfare and SEAD/DEAD (Suppression/Destruction Enemy Air Defense) of Master that it is. The command and control E-2D Advanced Hawkeyes are the shiny big brother to the Hawkeye of olden days. Northrop Grumman took an “if it isn’t broke don’t fix it” approach to the beefed up Hawkeyes and instead of changing anything they just made it better in almost every way. The same is true for the SH-60 Seahawks which will cover helicopter operations.
There is one other addition to be added to all Ford class carriers. The addition of an unmanned warfare center to operate any and all unmanned drones deployed by the CSG. The one major planned unmanned system is the MQ-25 Stingray. The Stingray is still in development but is expected to make its way to the fleet in the next couple years. The Stingray will handle all the carrier aerial refueling needs.
All in all the Ford Class carriers will provide a net positive in war-fighting ability to the US navy in a time when politics and budget constraints in the acquisition department have yielded several platforms that failed to meet expectations. The next Ford Class Carrier is set to be delivered to the Navy this year as long as there are no delays.
Global Conflict Reporting 
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