The US Navy has christened the first of a new class of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, the 13-billion-dollar USS Gerald R. Ford. The ship, hailed as the most technologically advanced ever built, is expected to join the fleet in 2016.
The ship is the Navy's first carrier designed in more than 40
years. The Ford-class aircraft carriers will replace current
Nimitz class that was launched in 1972. The Ford is projected to
stay in service until 2057.
The ship, named after US President Gerald Ford, was christened at
the ceremony at Huntington Ingalls Newport News Shipbuilding in
Newport News, Va. on Saturday. The new aircraft carrier is
planned to replace the USS Enterprise (CVN-65).
The former president’s daughter, Susan Ford Bales, who was also
the ship's sponsor, performed the ceremonial breaking of a bottle
of champagne on the ship's bow in front of more than 20,000
sailors, shipbuilders and civilians.
The ceremony comes after more than 12 years of planning and
construction.
"The carrier is our Navy's most adaptable platform," Adm.
Jonathan Greenert, chief of naval operations, said, calling the
Ford a “technological marvel”. "Ford will herald a new era of
our carrier fleet," he added.
Stretching 330 m (1,092 feet) long, the ship will feature a new
nuclear power plant, a redesigned island, electromagnetic
catapults and improved weapons movement.
The carrier will be able to carry more warplanes and launch 25
per cent more air missions per day than the current carriers. The
US Navy required the carrier to support up to a maximum of 220
sorties a day in times of crisis and intense air warfare
activity.
The new craft will accommodate almost 4,500 crew members,
compared to the average 5,500 people operating a Nimitz class
carrier, and up to 90 aircrafts along with unmanned combat air
vehicles (UAVs).
The USS Gerald Ford will be equipped with two newly-designed
reactors and will have 250 percent more electrical capacity than
previous carriers. This will also support a cruising speed over
30 knots.
Super-expensive super-carrier
Requiring 1,000 fewer crew members and 30 per cent less
maintenance over its 50-year lifespan, the Ford is said to let
the US Navy save $4 billion.
While the Navy praises this as another significant advantage,
critics say, the cost of building the ship has already
skyrocketed. With the carrier now 70 per cent complete,
construction costs are about 22 per cent over the over the
scheduled budget.
The high price still will not guarantee that after it is
commissioned in 2016 the carrier will not face “significant
reliability shortfalls”, as the Government Accountability
Office, an investigative arm of Congress, said in September.
This may limit the ship's mission effectiveness and increase the
government’s costs even more.