Gerald R. Ford-class

The world's largest warship — a nuclear-powered supercarrier with electromagnetic catapults, built to sustain a ~75-aircraft air wing and project power globally, and the centerpiece of the US Navy's 11-carrier fleet.

Overview

The Gerald R. Ford-class is the United States Navy's newest class of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, succeeding the Nimitz-class as the backbone of American carrier strike group operations. The lead ship, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), was commissioned in 2017 and represents the first new US carrier design in over four decades. With a full-load displacement exceeding 100,000 tonnes, electromagnetic catapults in place of steam, and a redesigned flight deck optimized for higher sortie-generation rates, the class is built to sustain air operations at a tempo no other warship can match. According to The Defense Post, the Ford-class introduces 23 new or upgraded systems compared to the Nimitz-class, ranging from its A1B nuclear reactors to its dual-band radar suite.

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