Key Points and Summary – The U.S. Navy’s new Ford-class aircraft carriers, led by the USS Gerald R. Ford, are the largest and most powerful warships ever built.
-These 100,000-ton, nuclear-powered vessels can exceed 30 knots and have virtually unlimited range.
-They feature game-changing technologies like the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS), which replaces traditional steam catapults, and an advanced dual-band radar system.
-Designed to carry up to 90 aircraft, including the F-35, with a smaller crew than their predecessors, the Ford-class represents a major leap forward in naval power projection.
The Ford-Class Aircraft Carriers Are Fast, And Other Facts
The U.S. Navy’s latest class of capital vessel, the Ford-class aircraft carrier, joined the fleet with the introduction of the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78).
These nuclear-powered vessels are designed for sustained high speeds. They can exceed 30 knots, which allows them to keep pace with other warships and maintain operational flexibility. The carriers can maintain this speed for extended periods, which is crucial for their role as a mobile, seaborne airbase. The class’s nuclear propulsion provides the carriers with virtually unlimited range, unlike conventionally powered carriers.
Despite their size, these carriers are designed to be surprisingly agile, allowing them to maneuver effectively even in tight situations.
Named After Former President Gerald R Ford
The class’s first aircraft carrier, which entered service in 2017, is named after former U.S. President Gerald R. Ford (1913-2006), who served in the Navy during World War II, enlisting after the Pearl Harbor attack.
Ford served as an assistant navigator, athletic officer, and anti-aircraft battery officer on board the aircraft carrier USS Monterey, and he saw action in the Pacific Theater.
On Jan. 3, 2007, then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld announced during a eulogy for the recently deceased Ford that the latest aircraft carrier under development would be named after the former president.
The Ford Class Are Enormous:
The Gerald R. Ford is the largest warship ever built. It is 1,092 feet long, 256 feet wide, and 250 feet high. It displaces 100,000 tons at full load.
That dwarfs the size of the Essex-class carriers, the main U.S. carriers during World War II, which weighed 36,000 tons.
The enormous carriers are powered by Bechtel A1B PWR nuclear reactors that deliver three times the power of the Nimitz-class carriers the Ford class will replace on a one-to-one basis.
The reactors give the craft its speed, but they also power its advanced systems. The operational life of the carrier is 50 years.
Despite its great size, the Ford class will carry a smaller crew than Nimitz-class carriers. CVN-78 carries 2,600 officers and crew – 700 fewer than a Nimitz-class carrier.
The Ford-Class Carrier Carries Plenty Of Punch
The Ford can carry up to 90 aircraft, including the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, Boeing EA-18G Growler, Grumman C-2 Greyhound, Northrop Grumman E-2 Hawkeye, and the Lockheed Martin F-35C Lightning II, as well as Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk helicopters, and unmanned combat aerial vehicles.
In addition to the aircraft carried, the Ford carrier is armed with:
-2 × Mk 29 guided missile launching systems, 8 × RIM-162 Evolved SeaSparrow missiles;
-2 × Mk 49 guided missile launching systems, 21 × RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missiles each;
-3 × Phalanx Close-In Weapon Systems;
-4 × Mk 38 25-mm machine guns; and
-4 × M2 .50 cal. (12.7 mm) machine guns
Other Ford-class Features
The Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) launches aircraft using a catapult employing a linear-induction motor, rather than the steam piston used on the Nimitz class.
EMALS is the Navy’s newest carrier-based launch system. It was designed for the Ford-class carriers. The EMALS accelerates aircraft more smoothly, putting less stress on airframes. It also weighs less, and it is expected to cost less and require less maintenance. It can launch heavier and lighter aircraft than a steam-powered piston-driven system.
It also reduces the carrier’s requirement for fresh water, thus reducing the demand for energy-intensive desalination.
The Ford class also has an integrated active electronically scanned array search and tracking radar system. Raytheon’s dual-band radar (DBR) was being developed for both the Zumwalt-class guided missile destroyers and the Gerald R. Ford class.
The island was made smaller by replacing 6 to 10 radar antennas with a single six-faced radar. The DBR works by combining the X-band AN/SPY-3 multifunction radar with the S-band AN/SPY-4 Volume Search Radar emitters, distributed into three phased arrays.
The Ford class is expected to comprise at least six carriers in the coming years, and the Navy is planning to block-buy several carriers to save an estimated $5 billion.
According to Breaking Defense, “A block buy refers to an acquisition strategy of purchasing multiple ships under one contract; in this case, the contract would include the future USS William J. Clinton (CVN-82) and USS George W. Bush (CVN-83).
“Block buys are a favored acquisition strategy for the US Navy and industry alike because, from the service’s standpoint, buying materials in bulk results in a lower bottom-line price. Meanwhile, for the industry, locking in years’ worth of orders early brings the stability shipbuilders crave.”
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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August 25, 2025 at 9:55 am
I served on one of the Essex Class CVA carriers in the late 1960s as part of the navigation div. Built in 1943 and retrofitted in 1957, she could do 30 knots in calm seas. Did so during sea trials.
I was a guest of the CO on one of our newer CVN carriers a few years ago, and among other demonstrations, witnessed a speed run off the coast of Oregon while on our way to Washington. Let’s just say that (30) knots was just part of the demonstration that day. There was a container ship about 5 miles off our port side also heading north. We passed her like she was in reverse. Always wondered what that Captain thought of our monster ship passing him like that.