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LIST OF AIRCRAFT CARRIERS UNDER CONSTRUCTION:2013


8)INS VIKRAMADITYA

INS vikramaditya during sea trails

 

The aircraft carrier was first launched by the USSR in the early 1980s. However, on account of the dissolution of the Soviet Socialist Republic, the vessel’s utility in the East European bloc did not extend beyond the early 90s. In the year 2004 consequentially, a very important naval accord was struck between long time military allies India and Russia.


As per the terms of this accord, the apparently defunct air force carrier would not only be sold to India but would also be re-equipped with modern arsenal and artillery to suit the Indian naval requirements. The accord also included sale of Russian fighter planes MIG 29Ks and MIG 29 KUBs along with appropriate training provided to the fighter pilots. The terms of this accord also stated renovation of the navy ship and equipping it with modern amenities and other naval aid.
The totality of this concord came to about US$ 1.5 billion, which was further revised and modified as per Russian terms to over US$ two billion in the past two years. Post its re-equipping, INS Vikramaditya will have a capacitance to carry both fighter planes and helicopters. The latter will include Ka-31 Helix copters and HAL Dhruv copters, in totality between four to 12 copters; while the former includes Sea Harrier fighter planes along with the MIG 29Ks and 29 KUBs, totality between 12 to 16 fighter crafts.
In terms of specifications, the Vikramaditya can be detailed as follows:
  • The naval ship has a displacement of 45,000 tonnes
  • The vessel measures 900 feet lengthwise, 174 feet width wise and 107 feet beam wise
  • Offers a maximum speed of 32 knots
  • Can accommodate a crew of 1600
The INS Vikramaditya is the carrier vessel that will take the place of Indian Naval Force’s current air force carrier – INS Viraat. The Indian Navy also has strategic plans to launch another such carrier craft which would ensure that the stronghold of its naval force is maintained for a very long and substantial time. Also, India’s INS Vikrant holds the distinction of being the first Indian carrier craft to be built in the country’s naval dockyards.

more pictures:






7)INS VIKRANT
INS vikrant under construction at Cochin shipyard:photo taken on November 2012

The Vikrant Class are the first indigenously designed and built aircraft carriers in India. Two aircraft carriers are being constructed for the Indian navy by Cochin Shipyard (CSL). The first ship in the series will replace the retired aircraft carrier, INS Virat.

The first steel was cut for the lead ship, INS Vikrant, in April 2005. Its keel was laid down in February 2009, and it is scheduled to be launched in mid-2011 and commissioned in 2014. The second indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC-2) is expected to be ordered by 2010 for induction into the Indian Navy in 2017.

Vikrant Class design and features

Designed by the Directorate of Naval Design, the aircraft carrier can operate a combination of Russian MiG-29K, Ka31 and the indigenous light combat aircraft. It will be powered by two LM2500 gas turbines. The design incorporates highly automated systems for machinery operation, ship navigation and survivability.

The ship will have an overall length of 260m and a breadth of 60m and its displacement will be 40,000t. The ship can accommodate 1,600 personnel including ship company, airgroup and troops.

Construction

The design and construction of the first aircraft was approved by the Indian Government in January 2003. The construction work began in November 2006. Built through modular construction, a total of 874 blocks were fabricated for the erection.

"The Vikrant Class are the first indigenously designed and built aircraft carriers in India."
The ship is constructed from high-strength steel manufactured in-house with the assistance of the Defence Research and Development Organisation and the Steel Authority of India. These aircraft carriers will be the biggest warships ever built by CSL.

Fincantieri of Italy will provide assistance for propulsion system integration and the Naval Design Bureau of Russia will supply its aviation technology.

The Ministry of Defence granted funds to the shipyard to improve infrastructure such as workshops and heavy-duty machinery. The ship will be completed in two phases.

The first phase includes the work up to first launch at the end 2010, while the second will cover the remaining works until the delivery of the ship.

Aircraft

The flight deck will feature two take-off runways and a landing strip equipped with three arrester wires. The STOBAR (short take-off but arrested recovery) system on an angled flight deck is used to launch and recover an aircraft from the deck of an aircraft carrier. IAC-2 will be fitted with steam catapults rather than STOBAR to launch fourth-generation aircraft. The aircraft carrier can accommodate up to 30 aircraft. It will have adequate hangar and maintenance facilities for aircraft onboard.

The airgroup will be a mix of combat aircraft including the MiG-29K, Sea Harrier and naval light aircraft as well as the HAL Dhruv and Ka-31 helicopters. The Ka-31 provides airborne early warning coverage.

Weapon systems

The aircraft carrier will be fitted with a vertical launch system for long-range surface-to-air missiles. A close-in weapon system will provide self-defence for the ship against incoming anti-ship missiles and aircraft. Four OTO Melera 76mm Super Rapid guns - two on the bow section and two at the stern side – will be fitted. They can fire 120 rounds a minute at a range of 30,000m.

Countermeasures

The Vikrant Class ships will be equipped with a modern early air warning radar, VHF or UHF tactical air navigation and direction finding systems. The ship will also feature jamming capabilities. The combat management system onboard will use sensors and tactical data links to provide real-time situational awareness.

Propulsion

A combined gas turbine and gas turbine propulsion system will power the ship. Four General Electric LM2500+ gas turbines driving two shafts will provide a total power of 80MW. The propulsion system provides a maximum speed of over 28kt. The ship will have a range of about 8,000nm.


Builder Cochin Shipyard Limited
Operator Indian Navy
Complement 1600
Displacement Approximately 40,000t
Length 260m
Beam 60m
Draught 8.4m
6)INS VISHAL

Vikrant class carrier 


Designation: INS Vishal
Classification Type: Conventionally-Powered Aircraft Carrier
Ship Class: Vikrant-class
Country of Origin: India
Number in Class: 2
Operators: India

Ships-in-Class
INS Vikrant; INS Vishal
Dimensions:
Length: 860ft (262.13m)
Beam: 200ft (60.96m)
Draught: 28ft (8.53m)
Performance:
Surface Speed: 28kts (32mph)
Range: 8,600miles (13,840km)
Armament Suite:
4 x Otobreda 76mm dual purpose cannons
Surface-to-Air Missile Launchers
Close-In Weapon System (CIWS)
Structure:
Complement: 1,400
Surface Displacement: 65,000tons
Machinery:
Engine(s): 4 x General Electric LM2500+ gas turbines generating power to 2 x shafts.
Air Arm:
The air arm was likely to be hal tejas naval varient, and according to rfi issued earlier its was the contendors of mmrca, but most like it may carry RAFALE onboard, with E-2D hawk eye , and potent ASW helicopters (30 A-10H 3 misc approx)


The INS Vishal will follow her sister, the INS Vikrant, into Indian Navy service in the next decade and sport a higher displacement and flat-top flightdeck.
The INS Vishal (“Immense”) is the second of two new indigenous Indian Navy carrier designs currently under construction (2012). The INS Vishal is following the INS Vikrant into service to which the latter is expected to be commissioned sometime after 2017 due to ongoing project delays. Prior to these two endeavors, the Indian Navy relied largely on existing foreign types of British or Soviet/Russian origin refitted for Indian Navy use and, as such, these new carrier developments will stand as a huge symbol of national pride. The INS Vishal project is headed by the Naval Design Bureau with the vessel requirements expected to be finalized by the end of 2012.For years. the Indian Navy made use of two ex-British Royal Navy carriers under the local names of INS Vikrant (R11) and INS Viraat (R22) though these aging systems eventually passed their prime by the end of the 1980s and thought was given towards their formal retirement. A new indigenous initiative was announced in 1989 intended to stock the Indian Navy with a homegrown solution under the “Air Defence Ships” (ADS) project. Construction would consist of two 28,000 ton vessels centered on the launching and recovery of the British BAe Sea Harrier Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) strike aircraft. However, economic hardship struck the Indian nation and the project fell to naught.In 1999, the economic troubles had subsided to which the indigenous carrier initiative was brought to light once more. By this time, the Sea Harrier stable had grown thin to under a dozen aircraft and a more flexible aircraft carrier solution was directed under the new “Indigenous Aircraft Carrier” initiative. The class would include the initial 40,000 ton INS Vikrant (not to be confused with the original R11) and her sister, the 65,000 ton INS Vishal. Both would be capable of launching the newer Mikoyan MiG-29K Fulcrum navy fighters and navalized helicopters as required. The Vikrant was assigned a STOBAR configuration (Short Take-Off But Arrested Recovery) to which a “ski jump” ramp was affixed to the bow end of the ship for the required short-take off requirement. The Vishal, however, would be drastically different in scope and function, being of the CATOBAR configuration (Catapult-Assisted Take-Off But Arrested Recovery) – in essence a “flat top” deck more in line with American Navy offerings. This particular configuration would now make it possible to launch heavier and dimensionally larger mission-minded fixed-wing aircraft such as Airborne Early Warning (AEW) types and give the Indian Navy a considerable edge in the South Asian-Pacific Theater – particularly against the likes of China and Pakistan.Design plans were drawn up in 2001 to which funding was secured in 2003 and construction of the Vishal began in 2012 (continuing today). At the end of the project, the Vishal will be a conventionally-powered aircraft carrier fitted with 4 x General Electric LM2500+ series gas turbine engines delivering to two shafts. Top speed will be 28 knots in ideal conditions with a range out to 7,500 nautical miles. Dimensions include a running length of 860 feet with a 200 foot beam and 28 foot draught. The crew complement is expected to be 1,400 officers, sailors, service personnel, airmen and mechanics.The bread and butter of the Vishal carrier will be its air wing comprised of 29 fixed-wing aircraft and 10 rotary-wing helicopters. The primary mount is expected to be the Russian Mikoyan MiG-29K Fulcrum, the navalized form of the successful land-based lightweight fighter. These will be supplemented or replaced by the indigenous delta-winged HAL Tejas aircraft (navalized). However, the Indian Navy is also interested in stocking heavier aircraft such as the Sukhoi Su-33, Boeing F/A-18 Hornet or French Dassault Rafale (the Rafale in particular has just been selected by the Indian Air Force to replace its stock of outdated Mikoyan MiG-21 Fishbed fighters). The Grumman E-2 Hawkeye has been mentioned for the fixed-wing AEW role as has a modified AEW version of the Boeing V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor helicopter. Helicopter types expected include the Russian Kamov Ka-31 series (Airborne Early Warning (AEW)) or the British Westland Sea King (Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW)) – both navalized for operations at sea/over water.The vessel will be defended by a network of 4 x 76mm Otobreda guns, surface-to-air missile launchers and a Close-In Weapon System (CIWS) such as the 20mm American “Phalanx”. A selex RAN-40L L-band early warning radar (EWR) will be part of the extensive and advanced sensor and processing system.At this writing (2012), the arrival of the INS Vishal is still some time away as the Indian Navy commits to other higher profile requirements. The launch date for the vessel is tentatively scheduled for sometime in 2017 with sea trials to be undertaken in 2020 and formal commissioning in 2022. Sources indicate that the commissioning year is closer to 2025 due to the ambitious nature of the program and much thought given to finding local solutions without foreign assistance. This will push existing carriers such as the INS Viraat into service beyond 2014. The INS Vikramaditya – a converted ex-Soviet/Russian Kiev-class carrier – is scheduled to be commissioned at the end of 2013 as a more viable, modernized solution for the Indian Navy until the arrival of the INS Vikrant and INS Vishal.


5)HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH (R08)&
4)HMS PRINCE OF WALES(R09)


An Artists impression of the new CVF (Future Carrier) and JSF (Joint Strike Fighter)

Artist Impression of the CVF Island structures

Royal Navy insiders have described the latest multi-billion aircraft carriers as “white elephants” with “dinky toys” on top.

On 25 July 2007 the Secretary of State for Defence announced to Parliament that the MOD will place the order for two aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy - HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH and HMS PRINCE OF WALES.

The ships will be delivered by the Aircraft Carrier Alliance (ACA) – an innovative alliance comprising industry participants and MOD – in which CVF IPT represents the MOD as both client and participant. For the Manufacture Phase the Industrial Participants will be: the BAES/VT planned Joint Venture, Thales, Babcock and BAES (Surface Ships & Insyte).

In line with recommendations made following the 1998 Strategic Defence Review, CVF will replace the Royal Navy's current three Invincible class aircraft carriers with two larger, more capable vessels. The CVF or Queen Elizabeth class of carriers will be the largest capital ships ever constructed in the UK or operated by the Royal Navy and the most capable carrier force outside the USA.
 
Britain's requirement for new Aircraft Carriers
 

Our three Invincible Class aircraft carriers were designed for Cold War anti-submarine warfare operations in the North Atlantic.

Their limited air group means they would be unable to fulfil the increasingly challenging demands of the new strategic environment and they are, in any case, coming to the end of their expected life.

In 1998, the Strategic Defence Review (SDR) announced plans to replace the current Invincible class of aircraft carrier with two larger, more capable vessels that could operate a much more powerful air group. Successive operations in the Gulf and Bosnia demonstrated that aircraft carriers play a key role in force projection, contributing to peace support and, when necessary, military action at a time and a place of our choosing. Aircraft carriers offer both a coercive presence worldwide that can help contribute to conflict prevention and a flexible and rapidly deployable base during operations where airfields are unavailable, or facilities ashore are still being established. This analysis was further endorsed by the New Chapter work of 2002 and re-enforced in the Defence White Paper in December 2003.

Future Capability

The Future Aircraft Carriers (CVF) will deploy offensive air power in support of the full spectrum of future operations. This will be provided by a Joint Force Air Group (JFAG) which primarily consists of a combination of the Joint Combat Aircraft (JCA) and the Maritime Airborne Surveillance and Control (MASC) system. JCA/MASC will be capable of operating in all weathers, day and night, to provide carrier strike, as well as air defence for the carrier and offensive support for ground forces ashore.

The JFAG will also operate helicopters and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) from all three Services in a variety of roles that could include anti-submarine/anti-surface warfare, attack and support. The Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) variant of the Lockheed Martin F35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) has been selected to fulfil the JCA role. The carriers will also be able to operate GR9 Harriers.

Design

Carrier design is an exceptionally complex three-dimensional puzzle in which flight deck, hangar deck, stability and sea-keeping requirements interact. Initial studies for CVF encompassed six different candidate ships across a range of capabilities and aircraft types and led to the adoption of the technologically advanced, innovative and highly capable “Design Delta”, centred on MoD’s choice of the STOVL (short take-off and vertical landing) Joint Combat Aircraft (JCA).

The adaptability of Design Delta is unique and has involved extensive modelling, computer analysis and tank tests.

Some of the innovations in the design include:
  • First adaptable design that, while configured to operate STOVL aircraft, can be altered later in its projected 40-50 year service life to accommodate catapults and arrestor gear to fly conventional CV (Carrier Variant) aircraft;
  • Location of main engines high in the ship, reducing penetration of large downtakes and exhausts deep in the hull;
  • First full integrated waste management system to meet projected future environmental standards;
  • First carrier with split “island” superstructure - improving control of flight deck operations.
The Aircraft Carrier Alliance has worked exhaustively to achieve value for money. The result is a design capable of operating more than twice as many larger and heavier aircraft compared with existing Invincible class – but carrying a similar sized crew – and with increased strategic capability.

Design Delta also displaces about three times as much as an Invincible, has four times the internal hull volume, carries 70 percent more ship and aircraft fuel, has 75 percent more unrefuelled range and accommodation to the very latest and highest standards.
 
CVF Specifications (Approx)
Displacement65,000 tonnes
Engines4 x Rolls Royce Olympus TM3B gas turbines delivering 112,000 shp to two shafts
Length284m
Max Beam73m
Max Draught11m
Complement
1500 (including air crew)
AircraftTotal of 40 to include: Joint Combat Aircraft, Maritime Airborne Surveillance and Control (MASC) Aircraft and Merlin Helicopters.

Facts and Figures
  • Each ship will be similar size and weight as the ocean liner the QE2, The CVF dimensions are: 65,000 tonnes at full displacement; 284m (931ft) length x 73m (239ft) width at flightdeck level; 56m from keel to masthead – 6m taller than Nelson's Column; 11m max draft (keel to waterline); 9 decks deep + Flight Deck; 40 aircraft.
  • Each ship weighs more than 32,500 average family cars.
  • The maximum expected Air Group to be embarked is 36 Joint Strike Fighters and four Airborne Early Warning aircraft, bringing the combined weight of embarked aircraft to over 1,000 tonnes.
  • CVF will carry over 8,600 tonnes of fuel to support the Ship and her aircraft – enough for the average family car to travel to the moon and back twelve times.
  • The ships can carry more than 1,000 tonnes of food - enough to feed the crew for six weeks.
  • The Flight Deck area is nearly 13,000m2 - the equivalent of 49 tennis courts or three football pitches.
  • The hangar is 29,000m3 - equivalent to 12 Olympic swimming pools.
  • The Ship's Long Range radar is the same size to that of a large mobile home.
  • CVF has two propellers of 6.7m diameter, weighing 33 tonnes each - Nearly two & half times as heavy as a double decker bus and one & half times as high. Each is driven by a pair of electric motors.
  • The ships’ anchors will be 3.1m in height, each weighing 13 tonnes - almost as much as a double decker bus.
  • Each of the two huge lifts that move aircraft from hangar to flightdeck can carry two fighter-bombers. They're so big one of them could carry the weight of the entire ship's crew.
  • Total crew numbers on HM Ships Queen Elizabeth and Prince of Wales are only two fifths more than on the Invincible class – even though they are three times the size.
  • Sixty-seven catering staff will cook the Ship's Company of up to 1,450 personnel three meals a day
  • There will be four galleys on board, serving four large dining areas, the largest of which can serve 960 crew in an hour. The entire crew can be served in 90 minutes (45 minutes when at Action Stations).
  • The crew will have a range of recreational facilities, when not on duty, such as cinema and fitness suites, available 24 hours a day. As is currently the case in the Fleet, all personnel have access to e-mail and the Internet, subject to satellite communications equipment not being used for operational purposes.
  • In Britain's last big carrier, the Ark Royal scrapped in the late 1970s, sailors lived 100 men to a mess deck. On the new carriers they share six berth cabins with large and comfortable bunks and adjacent toilet facilities and showers.
  • Using a combination of Diesel and Gas Turbine driven Generators, CVF will produce 109MW, enough to run a town the size of Swindon. The combined weight of the Diesel Generators is 800 tonnes.
  • There will be 11 full time medical staff, managing an eight bed medical suite, operating theatre and dental surgery, which can also be augmented as the mission demands (eg humanitarian operations). • CVF will produce over 150 tonnes of fresh water daily.
  • In keeping with the most modern navy ships the new carriers will still have a NAAFI shop stocking confectionary items for private purchase that would not normally be supplied through Government sources, and CVF will have a sizeable shop to cater for the 1,450 personnel on board.
  • Designing and building the ships is expected to sustain and create some 10,000 jobs across the UK throughout its design and manufacture. At the peak of assembly, over a thousand personnel are expected to be engaged on CVF at each of the yards at Govan, Barrow, Rosyth and Portsmouth.




3)USS GERALD R. FORD(CVN 78)
2)USS JOHN F. KENNEDY (CVN 79)




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 programme on the ship's propulsion system.
The CVN 78's first steel was cut in August 2005. A $5.1bn contract for the detailed design and construction was awarded to Newport News in September 2008. The keel was laid in November 2009.
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).
Construction of the USS John F Kennedy (CVN 79) began in February 2011 and is expected for completion in 2020.

CVN 21 future aircraft carrier design

The Gerald R Ford class carriers will have the same displacement, about 100,000t, as its predecessor, the Nimitz class George HW Bush (CVN 77), but will have about 500 to 900 fewer crew members.
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 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.
The hull design is similar to that of the current Nimitz Class carriers and with the same number of decks. The island is smaller and moved further towards the aft of the ship.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 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 the size of the island.
The ship's internal configuration and flight deck designs have significantly 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 manoeuvrable anti-ship missiles. The close-in weapon system is the rolling airframe missile (RAM) from Raytheon and Ramsys GmbH.

Gerald Ford Class carrier aircraft

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 combat air vehicles.

The flight deck has a relocated and smaller island, and there are three rather than four deck edge elevators. Deck extensions also increase the aircraft parking areas. The aircraft service stations are located near the 18 refuelling and rearming stops.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.
General Atomics was awarded 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 acceleration control, which leads to lower stresses in the aircraft and pilots and provides a slower launch speed for unmanned air vehicles and allows a wider window of wind-over-deck speed required for the launch sequence.
The contract for the development of an advanced turbo-electric arrestor gear has been awarded to General Atomics. The electro-magnetic motor applies control to the synthetic arrestor cable to reduce the maximum tensions in the cable and reduce the peak load on the arrestor hook and on the aircraft fuselage.

Aircraft weapons loading

The flow of weapons to the aircraft stops on the flight deck were upgraded to accommodate the higher sortie rates. The ship carries stores of missiles and cannon rounds for fighter aircraft, bombs and air-to-surface missiles for strike aircraft, and torpedoes and depth charges for anti-submarine warfare aircraft.
The deployment of all-up-rounds, which are larger, rather than traditional weapons requiring assembly will require double-height magazines and store rooms and will also impact on the level of need for weapons assembly facilities.Weapons elevators take the weapons systems from the magazines to the weapons handling and weapons assembly areas on the 02-level deck (below the flight deck) and express weapons elevators are installed between the handling and assembly areas and the flight deck. The two companies selected by Northrop Grumman to generate designs for the advanced weapons elevator are the Federal Equipment Company and Oldenburg Lakeshore Inc.
The US Navy outlined a requirement for a minimum 150% increase in the power-generation capacity for the CVN 21 carrier compared with the Nimitz Class carriers. The increased power capacity is needed for the four electro-magnetic aircraft launchers and for future systems such as directed energy weapons that might be feasible during the carrier's 50-year lifespan.

Sensors

Raytheon was contracted in October 2008 to supply a version of the dual-band radar (DBR) developed for the Zumwalt Class destroyer for installation on the Gerald R Ford. DBR combines X-band and S-band phased arrays.

Propulsion

Northrop Grumman is developing the advanced nuclear propulsion system and a zonal electrical power distribution system for the CVN 21

1)USS ENTERPRISE (CVN 80)

The Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier will be 1,092 feet in length and have a beam of 134 feet.  The flight deck will be 256 feet wide, and the ship will be able to operate at speeds in excess of 34 knots. Enterprise will be built by Huntington Ingalls Industries-Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Va. 

Tonnage:100,000 tons

MORE DETAILS WILL BE ADDED SOON!


NOTE:
TO PREPARE THIS WE TOOK INFORMATION FROM FOLLOWING SITES


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Wednesday, February 6, 2013

LIST OF AIRCRAFT CARRIERS UNDER CONSTRUCTION:2013

8)INS VIKRAMADITYA

INS vikramaditya during sea trails

 

The aircraft carrier was first launched by the USSR in the early 1980s. However, on account of the dissolution of the Soviet Socialist Republic, the vessel’s utility in the East European bloc did not extend beyond the early 90s. In the year 2004 consequentially, a very important naval accord was struck between long time military allies India and Russia.


As per the terms of this accord, the apparently defunct air force carrier would not only be sold to India but would also be re-equipped with modern arsenal and artillery to suit the Indian naval requirements. The accord also included sale of Russian fighter planes MIG 29Ks and MIG 29 KUBs along with appropriate training provided to the fighter pilots. The terms of this accord also stated renovation of the navy ship and equipping it with modern amenities and other naval aid.
The totality of this concord came to about US$ 1.5 billion, which was further revised and modified as per Russian terms to over US$ two billion in the past two years. Post its re-equipping, INS Vikramaditya will have a capacitance to carry both fighter planes and helicopters. The latter will include Ka-31 Helix copters and HAL Dhruv copters, in totality between four to 12 copters; while the former includes Sea Harrier fighter planes along with the MIG 29Ks and 29 KUBs, totality between 12 to 16 fighter crafts.
In terms of specifications, the Vikramaditya can be detailed as follows:
  • The naval ship has a displacement of 45,000 tonnes
  • The vessel measures 900 feet lengthwise, 174 feet width wise and 107 feet beam wise
  • Offers a maximum speed of 32 knots
  • Can accommodate a crew of 1600
The INS Vikramaditya is the carrier vessel that will take the place of Indian Naval Force’s current air force carrier – INS Viraat. The Indian Navy also has strategic plans to launch another such carrier craft which would ensure that the stronghold of its naval force is maintained for a very long and substantial time. Also, India’s INS Vikrant holds the distinction of being the first Indian carrier craft to be built in the country’s naval dockyards.

more pictures:






7)INS VIKRANT
INS vikrant under construction at Cochin shipyard:photo taken on November 2012

The Vikrant Class are the first indigenously designed and built aircraft carriers in India. Two aircraft carriers are being constructed for the Indian navy by Cochin Shipyard (CSL). The first ship in the series will replace the retired aircraft carrier, INS Virat.

The first steel was cut for the lead ship, INS Vikrant, in April 2005. Its keel was laid down in February 2009, and it is scheduled to be launched in mid-2011 and commissioned in 2014. The second indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC-2) is expected to be ordered by 2010 for induction into the Indian Navy in 2017.

Vikrant Class design and features

Designed by the Directorate of Naval Design, the aircraft carrier can operate a combination of Russian MiG-29K, Ka31 and the indigenous light combat aircraft. It will be powered by two LM2500 gas turbines. The design incorporates highly automated systems for machinery operation, ship navigation and survivability.

The ship will have an overall length of 260m and a breadth of 60m and its displacement will be 40,000t. The ship can accommodate 1,600 personnel including ship company, airgroup and troops.

Construction

The design and construction of the first aircraft was approved by the Indian Government in January 2003. The construction work began in November 2006. Built through modular construction, a total of 874 blocks were fabricated for the erection.

"The Vikrant Class are the first indigenously designed and built aircraft carriers in India."
The ship is constructed from high-strength steel manufactured in-house with the assistance of the Defence Research and Development Organisation and the Steel Authority of India. These aircraft carriers will be the biggest warships ever built by CSL.

Fincantieri of Italy will provide assistance for propulsion system integration and the Naval Design Bureau of Russia will supply its aviation technology.

The Ministry of Defence granted funds to the shipyard to improve infrastructure such as workshops and heavy-duty machinery. The ship will be completed in two phases.

The first phase includes the work up to first launch at the end 2010, while the second will cover the remaining works until the delivery of the ship.

Aircraft

The flight deck will feature two take-off runways and a landing strip equipped with three arrester wires. The STOBAR (short take-off but arrested recovery) system on an angled flight deck is used to launch and recover an aircraft from the deck of an aircraft carrier. IAC-2 will be fitted with steam catapults rather than STOBAR to launch fourth-generation aircraft. The aircraft carrier can accommodate up to 30 aircraft. It will have adequate hangar and maintenance facilities for aircraft onboard.

The airgroup will be a mix of combat aircraft including the MiG-29K, Sea Harrier and naval light aircraft as well as the HAL Dhruv and Ka-31 helicopters. The Ka-31 provides airborne early warning coverage.

Weapon systems

The aircraft carrier will be fitted with a vertical launch system for long-range surface-to-air missiles. A close-in weapon system will provide self-defence for the ship against incoming anti-ship missiles and aircraft. Four OTO Melera 76mm Super Rapid guns - two on the bow section and two at the stern side – will be fitted. They can fire 120 rounds a minute at a range of 30,000m.

Countermeasures

The Vikrant Class ships will be equipped with a modern early air warning radar, VHF or UHF tactical air navigation and direction finding systems. The ship will also feature jamming capabilities. The combat management system onboard will use sensors and tactical data links to provide real-time situational awareness.

Propulsion

A combined gas turbine and gas turbine propulsion system will power the ship. Four General Electric LM2500+ gas turbines driving two shafts will provide a total power of 80MW. The propulsion system provides a maximum speed of over 28kt. The ship will have a range of about 8,000nm.


Builder Cochin Shipyard Limited
Operator Indian Navy
Complement 1600
Displacement Approximately 40,000t
Length 260m
Beam 60m
Draught 8.4m
6)INS VISHAL

Vikrant class carrier 


Designation: INS Vishal
Classification Type: Conventionally-Powered Aircraft Carrier
Ship Class: Vikrant-class
Country of Origin: India
Number in Class: 2
Operators: India

Ships-in-Class
INS Vikrant; INS Vishal
Dimensions:
Length: 860ft (262.13m)
Beam: 200ft (60.96m)
Draught: 28ft (8.53m)
Performance:
Surface Speed: 28kts (32mph)
Range: 8,600miles (13,840km)
Armament Suite:
4 x Otobreda 76mm dual purpose cannons
Surface-to-Air Missile Launchers
Close-In Weapon System (CIWS)
Structure:
Complement: 1,400
Surface Displacement: 65,000tons
Machinery:
Engine(s): 4 x General Electric LM2500+ gas turbines generating power to 2 x shafts.
Air Arm:
The air arm was likely to be hal tejas naval varient, and according to rfi issued earlier its was the contendors of mmrca, but most like it may carry RAFALE onboard, with E-2D hawk eye , and potent ASW helicopters (30 A-10H 3 misc approx)


The INS Vishal will follow her sister, the INS Vikrant, into Indian Navy service in the next decade and sport a higher displacement and flat-top flightdeck.
The INS Vishal (“Immense”) is the second of two new indigenous Indian Navy carrier designs currently under construction (2012). The INS Vishal is following the INS Vikrant into service to which the latter is expected to be commissioned sometime after 2017 due to ongoing project delays. Prior to these two endeavors, the Indian Navy relied largely on existing foreign types of British or Soviet/Russian origin refitted for Indian Navy use and, as such, these new carrier developments will stand as a huge symbol of national pride. The INS Vishal project is headed by the Naval Design Bureau with the vessel requirements expected to be finalized by the end of 2012.For years. the Indian Navy made use of two ex-British Royal Navy carriers under the local names of INS Vikrant (R11) and INS Viraat (R22) though these aging systems eventually passed their prime by the end of the 1980s and thought was given towards their formal retirement. A new indigenous initiative was announced in 1989 intended to stock the Indian Navy with a homegrown solution under the “Air Defence Ships” (ADS) project. Construction would consist of two 28,000 ton vessels centered on the launching and recovery of the British BAe Sea Harrier Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) strike aircraft. However, economic hardship struck the Indian nation and the project fell to naught.In 1999, the economic troubles had subsided to which the indigenous carrier initiative was brought to light once more. By this time, the Sea Harrier stable had grown thin to under a dozen aircraft and a more flexible aircraft carrier solution was directed under the new “Indigenous Aircraft Carrier” initiative. The class would include the initial 40,000 ton INS Vikrant (not to be confused with the original R11) and her sister, the 65,000 ton INS Vishal. Both would be capable of launching the newer Mikoyan MiG-29K Fulcrum navy fighters and navalized helicopters as required. The Vikrant was assigned a STOBAR configuration (Short Take-Off But Arrested Recovery) to which a “ski jump” ramp was affixed to the bow end of the ship for the required short-take off requirement. The Vishal, however, would be drastically different in scope and function, being of the CATOBAR configuration (Catapult-Assisted Take-Off But Arrested Recovery) – in essence a “flat top” deck more in line with American Navy offerings. This particular configuration would now make it possible to launch heavier and dimensionally larger mission-minded fixed-wing aircraft such as Airborne Early Warning (AEW) types and give the Indian Navy a considerable edge in the South Asian-Pacific Theater – particularly against the likes of China and Pakistan.Design plans were drawn up in 2001 to which funding was secured in 2003 and construction of the Vishal began in 2012 (continuing today). At the end of the project, the Vishal will be a conventionally-powered aircraft carrier fitted with 4 x General Electric LM2500+ series gas turbine engines delivering to two shafts. Top speed will be 28 knots in ideal conditions with a range out to 7,500 nautical miles. Dimensions include a running length of 860 feet with a 200 foot beam and 28 foot draught. The crew complement is expected to be 1,400 officers, sailors, service personnel, airmen and mechanics.The bread and butter of the Vishal carrier will be its air wing comprised of 29 fixed-wing aircraft and 10 rotary-wing helicopters. The primary mount is expected to be the Russian Mikoyan MiG-29K Fulcrum, the navalized form of the successful land-based lightweight fighter. These will be supplemented or replaced by the indigenous delta-winged HAL Tejas aircraft (navalized). However, the Indian Navy is also interested in stocking heavier aircraft such as the Sukhoi Su-33, Boeing F/A-18 Hornet or French Dassault Rafale (the Rafale in particular has just been selected by the Indian Air Force to replace its stock of outdated Mikoyan MiG-21 Fishbed fighters). The Grumman E-2 Hawkeye has been mentioned for the fixed-wing AEW role as has a modified AEW version of the Boeing V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor helicopter. Helicopter types expected include the Russian Kamov Ka-31 series (Airborne Early Warning (AEW)) or the British Westland Sea King (Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW)) – both navalized for operations at sea/over water.The vessel will be defended by a network of 4 x 76mm Otobreda guns, surface-to-air missile launchers and a Close-In Weapon System (CIWS) such as the 20mm American “Phalanx”. A selex RAN-40L L-band early warning radar (EWR) will be part of the extensive and advanced sensor and processing system.At this writing (2012), the arrival of the INS Vishal is still some time away as the Indian Navy commits to other higher profile requirements. The launch date for the vessel is tentatively scheduled for sometime in 2017 with sea trials to be undertaken in 2020 and formal commissioning in 2022. Sources indicate that the commissioning year is closer to 2025 due to the ambitious nature of the program and much thought given to finding local solutions without foreign assistance. This will push existing carriers such as the INS Viraat into service beyond 2014. The INS Vikramaditya – a converted ex-Soviet/Russian Kiev-class carrier – is scheduled to be commissioned at the end of 2013 as a more viable, modernized solution for the Indian Navy until the arrival of the INS Vikrant and INS Vishal.


5)HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH (R08)&
4)HMS PRINCE OF WALES(R09)


An Artists impression of the new CVF (Future Carrier) and JSF (Joint Strike Fighter)

Artist Impression of the CVF Island structures

Royal Navy insiders have described the latest multi-billion aircraft carriers as “white elephants” with “dinky toys” on top.

On 25 July 2007 the Secretary of State for Defence announced to Parliament that the MOD will place the order for two aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy - HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH and HMS PRINCE OF WALES.

The ships will be delivered by the Aircraft Carrier Alliance (ACA) – an innovative alliance comprising industry participants and MOD – in which CVF IPT represents the MOD as both client and participant. For the Manufacture Phase the Industrial Participants will be: the BAES/VT planned Joint Venture, Thales, Babcock and BAES (Surface Ships & Insyte).

In line with recommendations made following the 1998 Strategic Defence Review, CVF will replace the Royal Navy's current three Invincible class aircraft carriers with two larger, more capable vessels. The CVF or Queen Elizabeth class of carriers will be the largest capital ships ever constructed in the UK or operated by the Royal Navy and the most capable carrier force outside the USA.
 
Britain's requirement for new Aircraft Carriers
 

Our three Invincible Class aircraft carriers were designed for Cold War anti-submarine warfare operations in the North Atlantic.

Their limited air group means they would be unable to fulfil the increasingly challenging demands of the new strategic environment and they are, in any case, coming to the end of their expected life.

In 1998, the Strategic Defence Review (SDR) announced plans to replace the current Invincible class of aircraft carrier with two larger, more capable vessels that could operate a much more powerful air group. Successive operations in the Gulf and Bosnia demonstrated that aircraft carriers play a key role in force projection, contributing to peace support and, when necessary, military action at a time and a place of our choosing. Aircraft carriers offer both a coercive presence worldwide that can help contribute to conflict prevention and a flexible and rapidly deployable base during operations where airfields are unavailable, or facilities ashore are still being established. This analysis was further endorsed by the New Chapter work of 2002 and re-enforced in the Defence White Paper in December 2003.

Future Capability

The Future Aircraft Carriers (CVF) will deploy offensive air power in support of the full spectrum of future operations. This will be provided by a Joint Force Air Group (JFAG) which primarily consists of a combination of the Joint Combat Aircraft (JCA) and the Maritime Airborne Surveillance and Control (MASC) system. JCA/MASC will be capable of operating in all weathers, day and night, to provide carrier strike, as well as air defence for the carrier and offensive support for ground forces ashore.

The JFAG will also operate helicopters and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) from all three Services in a variety of roles that could include anti-submarine/anti-surface warfare, attack and support. The Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) variant of the Lockheed Martin F35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) has been selected to fulfil the JCA role. The carriers will also be able to operate GR9 Harriers.

Design

Carrier design is an exceptionally complex three-dimensional puzzle in which flight deck, hangar deck, stability and sea-keeping requirements interact. Initial studies for CVF encompassed six different candidate ships across a range of capabilities and aircraft types and led to the adoption of the technologically advanced, innovative and highly capable “Design Delta”, centred on MoD’s choice of the STOVL (short take-off and vertical landing) Joint Combat Aircraft (JCA).

The adaptability of Design Delta is unique and has involved extensive modelling, computer analysis and tank tests.

Some of the innovations in the design include:
  • First adaptable design that, while configured to operate STOVL aircraft, can be altered later in its projected 40-50 year service life to accommodate catapults and arrestor gear to fly conventional CV (Carrier Variant) aircraft;
  • Location of main engines high in the ship, reducing penetration of large downtakes and exhausts deep in the hull;
  • First full integrated waste management system to meet projected future environmental standards;
  • First carrier with split “island” superstructure - improving control of flight deck operations.
The Aircraft Carrier Alliance has worked exhaustively to achieve value for money. The result is a design capable of operating more than twice as many larger and heavier aircraft compared with existing Invincible class – but carrying a similar sized crew – and with increased strategic capability.

Design Delta also displaces about three times as much as an Invincible, has four times the internal hull volume, carries 70 percent more ship and aircraft fuel, has 75 percent more unrefuelled range and accommodation to the very latest and highest standards.
 
CVF Specifications (Approx)
Displacement65,000 tonnes
Engines4 x Rolls Royce Olympus TM3B gas turbines delivering 112,000 shp to two shafts
Length284m
Max Beam73m
Max Draught11m
Complement
1500 (including air crew)
AircraftTotal of 40 to include: Joint Combat Aircraft, Maritime Airborne Surveillance and Control (MASC) Aircraft and Merlin Helicopters.

Facts and Figures
  • Each ship will be similar size and weight as the ocean liner the QE2, The CVF dimensions are: 65,000 tonnes at full displacement; 284m (931ft) length x 73m (239ft) width at flightdeck level; 56m from keel to masthead – 6m taller than Nelson's Column; 11m max draft (keel to waterline); 9 decks deep + Flight Deck; 40 aircraft.
  • Each ship weighs more than 32,500 average family cars.
  • The maximum expected Air Group to be embarked is 36 Joint Strike Fighters and four Airborne Early Warning aircraft, bringing the combined weight of embarked aircraft to over 1,000 tonnes.
  • CVF will carry over 8,600 tonnes of fuel to support the Ship and her aircraft – enough for the average family car to travel to the moon and back twelve times.
  • The ships can carry more than 1,000 tonnes of food - enough to feed the crew for six weeks.
  • The Flight Deck area is nearly 13,000m2 - the equivalent of 49 tennis courts or three football pitches.
  • The hangar is 29,000m3 - equivalent to 12 Olympic swimming pools.
  • The Ship's Long Range radar is the same size to that of a large mobile home.
  • CVF has two propellers of 6.7m diameter, weighing 33 tonnes each - Nearly two & half times as heavy as a double decker bus and one & half times as high. Each is driven by a pair of electric motors.
  • The ships’ anchors will be 3.1m in height, each weighing 13 tonnes - almost as much as a double decker bus.
  • Each of the two huge lifts that move aircraft from hangar to flightdeck can carry two fighter-bombers. They're so big one of them could carry the weight of the entire ship's crew.
  • Total crew numbers on HM Ships Queen Elizabeth and Prince of Wales are only two fifths more than on the Invincible class – even though they are three times the size.
  • Sixty-seven catering staff will cook the Ship's Company of up to 1,450 personnel three meals a day
  • There will be four galleys on board, serving four large dining areas, the largest of which can serve 960 crew in an hour. The entire crew can be served in 90 minutes (45 minutes when at Action Stations).
  • The crew will have a range of recreational facilities, when not on duty, such as cinema and fitness suites, available 24 hours a day. As is currently the case in the Fleet, all personnel have access to e-mail and the Internet, subject to satellite communications equipment not being used for operational purposes.
  • In Britain's last big carrier, the Ark Royal scrapped in the late 1970s, sailors lived 100 men to a mess deck. On the new carriers they share six berth cabins with large and comfortable bunks and adjacent toilet facilities and showers.
  • Using a combination of Diesel and Gas Turbine driven Generators, CVF will produce 109MW, enough to run a town the size of Swindon. The combined weight of the Diesel Generators is 800 tonnes.
  • There will be 11 full time medical staff, managing an eight bed medical suite, operating theatre and dental surgery, which can also be augmented as the mission demands (eg humanitarian operations). • CVF will produce over 150 tonnes of fresh water daily.
  • In keeping with the most modern navy ships the new carriers will still have a NAAFI shop stocking confectionary items for private purchase that would not normally be supplied through Government sources, and CVF will have a sizeable shop to cater for the 1,450 personnel on board.
  • Designing and building the ships is expected to sustain and create some 10,000 jobs across the UK throughout its design and manufacture. At the peak of assembly, over a thousand personnel are expected to be engaged on CVF at each of the yards at Govan, Barrow, Rosyth and Portsmouth.




3)USS GERALD R. FORD(CVN 78)
2)USS JOHN F. KENNEDY (CVN 79)




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 programme on the ship's propulsion system.
The CVN 78's first steel was cut in August 2005. A $5.1bn contract for the detailed design and construction was awarded to Newport News in September 2008. The keel was laid in November 2009.
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).
Construction of the USS John F Kennedy (CVN 79) began in February 2011 and is expected for completion in 2020.

CVN 21 future aircraft carrier design

The Gerald R Ford class carriers will have the same displacement, about 100,000t, as its predecessor, the Nimitz class George HW Bush (CVN 77), but will have about 500 to 900 fewer crew members.
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 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.
The hull design is similar to that of the current Nimitz Class carriers and with the same number of decks. The island is smaller and moved further towards the aft of the ship.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 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 the size of the island.
The ship's internal configuration and flight deck designs have significantly 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 manoeuvrable anti-ship missiles. The close-in weapon system is the rolling airframe missile (RAM) from Raytheon and Ramsys GmbH.

Gerald Ford Class carrier aircraft

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 combat air vehicles.

The flight deck has a relocated and smaller island, and there are three rather than four deck edge elevators. Deck extensions also increase the aircraft parking areas. The aircraft service stations are located near the 18 refuelling and rearming stops.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.
General Atomics was awarded 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 acceleration control, which leads to lower stresses in the aircraft and pilots and provides a slower launch speed for unmanned air vehicles and allows a wider window of wind-over-deck speed required for the launch sequence.
The contract for the development of an advanced turbo-electric arrestor gear has been awarded to General Atomics. The electro-magnetic motor applies control to the synthetic arrestor cable to reduce the maximum tensions in the cable and reduce the peak load on the arrestor hook and on the aircraft fuselage.

Aircraft weapons loading

The flow of weapons to the aircraft stops on the flight deck were upgraded to accommodate the higher sortie rates. The ship carries stores of missiles and cannon rounds for fighter aircraft, bombs and air-to-surface missiles for strike aircraft, and torpedoes and depth charges for anti-submarine warfare aircraft.
The deployment of all-up-rounds, which are larger, rather than traditional weapons requiring assembly will require double-height magazines and store rooms and will also impact on the level of need for weapons assembly facilities.Weapons elevators take the weapons systems from the magazines to the weapons handling and weapons assembly areas on the 02-level deck (below the flight deck) and express weapons elevators are installed between the handling and assembly areas and the flight deck. The two companies selected by Northrop Grumman to generate designs for the advanced weapons elevator are the Federal Equipment Company and Oldenburg Lakeshore Inc.
The US Navy outlined a requirement for a minimum 150% increase in the power-generation capacity for the CVN 21 carrier compared with the Nimitz Class carriers. The increased power capacity is needed for the four electro-magnetic aircraft launchers and for future systems such as directed energy weapons that might be feasible during the carrier's 50-year lifespan.

Sensors

Raytheon was contracted in October 2008 to supply a version of the dual-band radar (DBR) developed for the Zumwalt Class destroyer for installation on the Gerald R Ford. DBR combines X-band and S-band phased arrays.

Propulsion

Northrop Grumman is developing the advanced nuclear propulsion system and a zonal electrical power distribution system for the CVN 21

1)USS ENTERPRISE (CVN 80)

The Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier will be 1,092 feet in length and have a beam of 134 feet.  The flight deck will be 256 feet wide, and the ship will be able to operate at speeds in excess of 34 knots. Enterprise will be built by Huntington Ingalls Industries-Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Va. 

Tonnage:100,000 tons

MORE DETAILS WILL BE ADDED SOON!


NOTE:
TO PREPARE THIS WE TOOK INFORMATION FROM FOLLOWING SITES


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