An aircraft carrier for the information age

Sea Power, Apr 2000 by Gemmill, Alan Mark

Aircraft carriers. The mere mention 1of these two words plants an immediate, crystal-clear image of floating cities at sea-an unsurpassed military force teamed with an industrial complex run by the best and brightest of America's youth. Since the beginning of World War II, the carrier has been the military platform of choice during times of crisis, conflict, or military contingency. The abilities to maneuver quickly in an unconstrained way over the world's oceans, establish battlespace dominance, project offensive and defensive power, and to remain on station for extended periods of time are attributes essential for success in today's changing operational environment.

The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is in a class of its own when it comes to satisfying these requirements. However, the carriers of the 20th century were designed to fight Industrial Age conflicts in which the massing of forces and multiple layers of redundant manpower were the primary tools of the trade. Industrial Age carriers were regarded simply as floating airports, with builtin gas stations and weapons magazines-the "necessary infrastructure" to get airplanes into battle from the sea.

In the Navy's expanded role under the U.S. engagement strategy, it must stay alert to the impact that technological changes will have on the operating environment, on Navy people, and on evolving threats. If the Navy is to maintain the fighting capability it has so successfully developed through the years, it must recognize that cultural change also will continue to occur on the deckplates in step with the forward march of technology.

For these reasons, it is critically important that the Navy develop the ability to evolve the aircraft carrier's design as changes occur in its total operational environment. Potentially critical "hot spots" and technological advances occur at blinding speed compared to the scenarios faced 35 or even 20 years ago. The challenge is to build not only new nuclear-powered carriers that are able to meet evolving scenarios, but also to put in place a system that will allow technological modernization of the Navy's in-service carrier fleet in a timely and cost-effective manner. Today's in-service fleet of nuclear

powered aircraft carriers, most of them Nimitz-class carriers, was developed using the prevailing research and development (R&D) methods and operational conditions of the mid-1970s. Since then, the carrier's operating capabilities, environment, and R&D methods have changed dramatically with little effect on in-service ships. Although each Nimitz-class ship will undergo a Refueling Complex Overhaul (RCOH) at its midlife point to replace or upgrade legacy systems, the technology of the replacement equipment may be between one and two years old when the ship rejoins the fleet.

These factors, combined with the fact that Nimitz-class carriers were designed with an Industrial Age mindset, demand that aircraft carriers of the future be designed in the context of a new paradigm-a focus on distributed firepower, commercial-off-the-shelf technology, innovation, agility, improved propulsion plants, knowledge and network-centricity, and reduced manpower requirements.

Shifting Design Paradigms

As we move from the Industrial Age to the Information Age in research, development, and design of CVNX, the Navy's aircraft carrier of the future, Navy planners and engineers must ensure that requirements are on target. This means that an emphasis must be placed on shifting design paradigms to meet future requirements and on finding ways to refresh installed technology every year or so.

This development places the Navy at a historic inflection point in aircraft carrier design-an inflection point defining maritime warfare's transition to new and challenging Information Age realities. If the Navy is to achieve the improvements in capability that justify the nation's substantial investment in these ships, it must refocus design efforts to the critical characteristics of the Information Age: the ability to innovate and adapt faster than an adversary, to empower decision-makers with the right information at the right time, to operate with fewer but more capable Sailors, to create a knowledge-based operating environment, and to mass firepower without massing forces.

Net-Centricity and Knowledge-Based Systems

Net-centricity is based on the concept of creating a complex, yet effective, "system of systems" in which information from land, sea, undersea, air, space, intelligence, and targeting sources are merged to form a cohesive picture of the battlespace. Successfully linking what have been separate "stovepiped" systems is not a trivial task, from a technical, procedural, or operational standpoint. The payoff in doing so is enormous, however, and will revolutionize not only the way the Navy fights, but also the way that command and control is exercised-from the sea.

Networks also will revolutionize the way the Navy trains its people by using distributed-learning concepts. These concepts, delivered to the right Sailor at the right time from facilities ashore, will transform the way the Navy maintains and expands current professional knowledge. In addition to enabling a smaller work force, this method of continuous learning will significantly increase training accessibility and reduce infrastructure costs. Also, the need for intensive maintenance training should diminish because Sailors will be able to interactively "walk through" procedures with assistance from key nodes ashore.