Key Points and Summary – Ford-class carriers replace Nimitz-class with major upgrades: twin A1B reactors delivering triple the electrical power; EMALS catapults and Advanced Arresting Gear for smoother, higher-tempo flight ops; a larger, cleaner flight deck with a smaller aft island; extensive automation cutting crew by 500–900; and modular sensors/defenses including SPY-3/X-band and volume search radar, Sea Sparrow, RAM, and Phalanx.
-Nimitz steam catapults are reliable but stress airframes and can’t launch very light UAVs.
Nimitz-class carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) transits the Atlantic Ocean while offloading munitions via helicopter to the world’s largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), June 27, 2025. Gerald R. Ford, a first-in- class nuclear aircraft carrier and deployed flagship of Carrier Strike Group Twelve, incorporates modern technology, innovative shipbuilding designs, and best practices from legacy aircraft carriers to increase the U.S. Navy’s capacity to underpin American security and economic prosperity, deter adversaries, and project power on a global scale through sustained operations at sea. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Jarrod Bury)
Ford-Class Aircraft Carrier. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
-Ford’s design targets 160 daily sorties (220 surge) while reducing maintenance. Result: similar displacement but far greater growth margin to integrate future systems and unmanned aircraft across decades of service.
What Are The Differences Between Nimitz and Ford-class Carriers?
The Gerald R. Ford-class of aircraft carriers is the replacement for the U.S. Navy’s Nimitz-class of supercarriers.
While debate may rage on the sidelines about whether the age of the carrier is over, the U.S. continues to rely on its carrier strike groups to project power. China clearly also believes in the power of the carrier, as it is building new flat-tops of its own.
The Nimitz-class carriers and their strike groups are the centerpieces of the U.S. Navy. These modern carriers can project immense power anywhere in the world. But the Navy announced in 2007 that the Nimitz-class would be replaced.
The first ship in the Gerald R. Ford-class is the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78). It is set to be followed by the John F. Kennedy (CVN-79), Enterprise (CVN-80), and Doris Miller (CVN-81).
Differences Between the Nimitz and Ford-class Carriers
Ford-class carriers feature significant technological advancements, including an all-electric power system and the electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS) for more efficient flight operations.
Increased automation reduces crew size and maintenance needs, and advanced defensive systems include new radar and a modular ability to integrate future technologies.
Key structural changes include a more compact and aft-placed island superstructure. This left space for a larger flight deck, facilitating faster aircraft launch and recovery operations. The Ford carriers are larger, with a displacement of 100,000 tons, but due to automation, they carry 500–900 fewer sailors.
The U.S. Navy Gerald R. Ford–class aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) and the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) underway in the Atlantic Ocean on 4 June 2020, marking the first time a Gerald R. Ford–class and a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier operated together underway.
Reactor Power
The Ford carriers have two new Bechtel A1B reactors. These reactors are smaller, simpler, and require fewer crew to operate than the Nimitz-class A4W reactor, yet they are far more powerful.
Each reactor is capable of producing 300 MW of electricity, triple the 100 MW of each A4W. The amount of power generated by the Ford’s reactors is incredible and will more than meet all the carrier’s needs.
The reactor has approximately half the number of valves, piping, primary pumps, condensers, and generators as its predecessor. The steam-generating system utilizes fewer than 200 valves and employs only eight distinct pipe sizes. These improvements lead to simpler construction, reduced maintenance, and lower manpower requirements, as well as to a more compact system that requires less space onboard the ship.
The modernization of the power plant led to a higher core energy density, lower demands for pumping power, a simpler construction, and the use of modern electronic controls and displays. The new plant requires only one-third of the watchstanding requirements.
Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System
Nimitz-class aircraft carriers use steam-powered catapults to launch aircraft.
Steam catapults were developed in the 1950s and have proven to be exceptionally reliable. For more than 50 years, at least one of the four catapults on each carrier has been able to launch an aircraft 99.5 percent of the time.
However, there are several drawbacks. First, Navy engineers have long worried about the wear on aircraft caused by the catapults.
The steam system is massive, inefficient, and hard to control. Nimitz-class steam-powered catapults can thus launch heavier aircraft, but cannot launch light Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, an unacceptable limitation for a 21st-century platform.
The catapults are 1950s technology, and they need to be replaced.
The EMALS is more efficient, smaller, lighter, more powerful, and easier to control.
Increased control means that EMALS will be able to launch both heavier and lighter aircraft than the steam catapults. Additionally, the use of a controlled force will reduce stress on the airframes, resulting in less maintenance and longer lifespans.
The EMALS can also generate 25 percent more sorties than the old catapults. Power limitations on the Nimitz-class make it impossible to install EMALS on the older carriers.
The Ford-class carries up to 90 aircraft, including the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft, and MH-60R/S helicopters, as well as unmanned air and combat vehicles.
The requirement for a higher sortie rate of 160 sorties per day, with surges up to 220 sorties per day during crisis and air warfare, led to design changes in the flight deck.
Newer, More Improved Radar Systems:
The new carrier has an AEGIS-style X-Band AN/SPY-3 Aegis radar and an S-Band Volume Surveillance Radar capable of search, track, and multiple missile illumination.
The AN/SPY is designed to detect the most advanced low-observable anti-ship cruise missile (ASCM) threats and support fire-control illumination requirements for the Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile, Standard Missiles, and future missiles required to engage the most challenging ASCMs.
The system was first introduced in the Zumwalt-class destroyers.
Better, More Sophisticated Ship Defensive Systems
The Ford-class has two Mk-29 missile launchers with eight Sea Sparrows each, as well as two Rolling Airframe Missile launchers and four Phalanx Close-In Weapon Systems for point defense against aircraft, missiles, and small ships.
Nimitz-class supercarriers are still incredible power projection platforms. But the Ford-class will carry the U.S. Navy into the next 50 years of sea power dominance.
About the Author: Steve Balestrieri
Steve Balestrieri is a National Security Columnist. He served as a US Army Special Forces NCO and Warrant Officer. In addition to writing on defense, he covers the NFL for PatsFans.com and is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA). His work was regularly featured in many military publications.
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