The other main differences in operational performance compared with the Nimitz Class are increased s

The first two ships, USS Gerald R Ford (CVN 78) and USS John F Kennedy (CVN 79), will be commissioned in 2015 and 2019, and further ships of the class will enter service at intervals of five years. A total of ten Ford class carriers are planned with construction continuing to 2058.
The CVN 78 will replace USS Enterprise (CVN 65), which entered service in 1961 and will approach the end of its operational life by 2015. The total acquisition cost of the CVN 21 is expected to be $11.7bn.
The US Department of Defense awarded Northrop Grumman Newport News in Virginia a $107.6m contract in July 2003, a $1.39bn contract in May 2004 and $559m to prepare for the carrier construction and to continue the design aerospace metals programme on the ship's propulsion system.
Northrop Grumman was awarded a contract for the planning and design of the second carrier, CVN 79, in November 2006. In May 2011, the US Navy announced that the carrier will be called John F Kennedy (CVN 79).
The manpower reduction was a key performance parameter added to the original four outlined in 2000 in the operational requirements document for the CVN 21 programme. It is estimated that the new carrier technologies will lead to a 30% reduction in maintenance requirements and a further crew workload reduction will be achieved aerospace metals through higher levels of automation.
The other main differences in operational performance compared with the Nimitz Class are increased sortie rates at 160 sorties a day (compared with 140 a day), a weight and stability allowance over the 50-year operational service life of the ship, and increased (by approximately 150%) electrical power generation and distribution to sustain the ship's advanced technology systems. Another key performance requirement is interoperability. CVN 21 aircraft carrier hull
All US Navy aircraft carriers since the 1960s have been built at Northrop Grumman Newport News. Northrop has extended its design and shipbuilding facilities with a new heavy plate workshop and burners, a new 5,000t thick plate press, covered assembly facilities and a new 1,050t-capacity crane.
Northrop is using a suite of computer-aided design (CAD) tools for the CVN 21 programme, including a CATIA software suite for simulation of the production processes and a CAVE virtual environment package.
The island has a composite mast with planar array radars, a volume search radar operating at S band and a multifunction radar at X band, and also carries aerospace metals the stern-facing joint precision approach and landing system (JPALS), which is based on local area differential global positioning system (GPS), rather than radar.
The aircraft carrier traditionally carries the flag officer and 70 staff of the carrier battle group. The flag bridge, which was previously accommodated in the carrier's island, was relocated to a lower deck in order to minimise aerospace metals the size of the island.
The ship's internal configuration and flight deck designs have significantly aerospace metals changed. The lower decks incorporate a flexible rapidly reconfigurable layout allowing different layouts and installation of new equipment in command, planning and administration areas.
The requirement to build in a weight and stability allowance will accommodate the added weight of new systems that will be installed over the 50-year operational life of the ship. The removal of one aircraft elevator unit and reducing the number of hangar bays from three to two have contributed to a reduction of the weight of the CVN 21. Weapons
The carrier will be armed with the Raytheon evolved Sea Sparrow missile (ESSM), which defends against high-speed, highly aerospace metals manoeuvrable anti-ship missiles. The close-in aerospace metals weapon system is the rolling airframe missile (RAM) from Raytheon and Ramsys GmbH. Gerald Ford Class carrier aircraft aerospace metals
The carrier will be capable of carrying 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 , MH-60R / S helicopters and unmanned air vehicles and unmanned aerospace metals combat air vehicles.
The requirement for a higher sortie rate at 160 sorties a day with surges to a maximum of 220 sorties a day in times of crisis and intense air warfare activity, has led to design changes in the flight deck.
The flight deck has a relocated and smaller island, and there are three rather than four deck edge elevators. Deck extensions aerospace metals also increase the aircraft parking areas. The aircraft service stations are located near the 18 refuelling and rearming stops.
General Atomics was awarded aerospace metals the contract to develop the EMALS electromagnetic aircraft launch system, which uses a linear electromagnetic accelerator motor. EMALS demonstrators were tested at the Naval Air Systems Command (NASC) Lakehurst test centre in New Jersey. It is planned that EMALS will replace the current C-13 steam catapults.
If successful, EMALS technology offers the potential benefit of finer aircraft accel