AIRCRAFT CARRIERS

Sea Power, Jan 2007

BRIEFING: Aircraft carriers play a vital role in protecting U.S. security interests overseas and establishing stability in the worlds trouble spots. In support of Operation Enduring Freedom (October 2001-present) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (March 2003-present), carrier strike groups have rapidly deployed to the Persian Gulf region to provide dominant, decisive and lethal offensive power. Since the fall of the Iraqi regime, the U.S. Navy has continuously maintained carrier strike group capability on-station in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility to strike against insurgents and conduct maritime security operations.

The carrier force includes 12 ships: 10 nuclear-powered carriers (CVNs) and two conventionally powered carriers (CVs). Commencing with Nimitz, commissioned in 1975, all aircraft carriers constructed have been nuclear-powered due to the inherent warfighting advantages of nuclear propulsion.

The 10th and final Nimitz-class carrier, George H.W. Bush, was christened Oct. 7, 2006, at Northrop Grumman Newport News and will be delivered to the fleet in 2008. George Washington will replace Kitty Hawk - the oldest carrier in U.S. Navy service - in Japan in 2008.

The CVN 21 program is well under way designing the nextgeneration carrier. The first ship of the class, CVN 78, is planned to begin for construction in 2008, with delivery in 2015. The CVN 78 class will be a large-deck nuclear-powered aircraft carrier that maintains the core capabilities of naval aviation while improving affordability of the carrier force. The design will incorporate the flexibility into the platform to accommodate future systems and technologies.

Key features of the CVN 78 class include new nuclear propulsion and electrical plant design, electromagnetic catapults, all-electric auxiliaries, advanced arresting gear and new integrated warfare systems and weapons/material handling systems. The major goals of this design effort are to bolster warfighting capabilities through increased sortie generation rate, increase electrical generating capacity, reduce required manpower, increase life allowances for displacement and stability and improve survivability.

The maintenance and upgrade of the Nimitz-class CVNs is accomplished through the Incremental Maintenance Plan. The midlife Refueling Complex Overhaul (RCOH) is the industrial availability necessary to achieve the full 50-year service life potential of the Nimitz class. The RCOH recapitalizes the ship to operate for the remainder of its service life by refueling the reactors, repairing and modernizing equipment and systems, and implementing total ownership cost-reduction initiatives.

In 2001, Nimitz completed a three-year RCOH. Dwight D. Elsenhower entered RCOH in May 2001 and was returned to service in March 2005. Carl Vinson began RCOH in November 2005, after a year's delay to accommodate changes in the way the Navy deploys its carrier strike groups.

The Navy plans to reduce its carrier fleet to 11 ships with the decommissioning of John F. Kennedy, projected to occur in 2007.

Nimitz Class (CVN)

DISPLACEMENT: .........approx. 97,000 tons full load

LENGTH:....................1,092 feet

BEAM: ....................134 feet

FLIGHT DECK WIDTH: .252 feet

SPEED:....................30 knots

POWER PLANT: ...........2 nuclear reactors, 4 geared steam turbines, 4 shafts, 280,000 shaft horsepower (shp)

AIRCRAFT:....................approx. 80, depending on type

ARMAMENT: ................NATO SeaSparrow launcher, Vulcan Phalanx Close-in Weapon System (CIWS) mounts; post-RCOH and CVN 76 configuration includes rearchitected SeaSparrow launchers and Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) launchers

COMPLEMENT: ............3,200 ship's company; 2,480 in air wing

BUILDER:....................Northrop Grumman Newport News, Newport News, Va.

Homeport:

CVN 68 Nimitz....................Coronado, Calif. (AP 96620-2820)

CVN 69 Dwight D. Eisenhower ................Norfolk, Va. (AE 09532-2839)

CVN 70 Carl Vinson....................Newport News, Va. (AE 09566-2840)

CVN 71 Theodore Roosevelt....................Norfolk, Va. (AE 09599-2871)

CVN 72 Abraham Lincoln....................Everett, Wash. (AP 96612-2872)

CVN 73 George Washington ....................Norfolk, Va. (AE 09550-2873)

CVN 74 John C. Stennis ................Bremerton, Wash. (AP 96615-2874)

CVN 75 Harry S. Truman ....................Norfolk, Va. (AP 96524-2875)

CVN 76 Ronald Reagan....................Coronado, Calif. (AP 96616-2876)

CVN 77 George H.W. Bush ....................under construction)

Enterprise Class (CVN)

DISPLACEMENT: .........89,600 tons full load

LENGTH:....................1,101 feet 2 inches

BEAM: ....................133 feet

FLIGHT DECK WIDTH: .252 feet

SPEED:....................30 knots

POWER PLANT: ...........8 nuclear reactors, 4 geared steam turbines, 4 shafts, 280,000 shp

AIRCRAFT:....................approx. 80, depending on type

ARMAMENT: ................NATO SeaSparrow missile launchers, Vulcan Phalanx CIWS mounts

COMPLEMENT: ............3,350 ship's company; 2,480 in air wing