Gerald R . Ford - class aircraft carrier The " Gerald R . Ford " - class aircraft carrier ( or " Ford " - class ) is a class of supercarrier s of the United States Navy , one intended to eventually replace some of the current " Nimitz " - class carriers . The new vessels will use a hull design similar to the " Nimitz " carriers , but many aspects of their design will be different , implementing new technologies developed since the initial design of the previous class ( such as the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System ) , as well as other design features intended to improve efficiency and running costs , including a reduced crew requirement . The first ship of the class is named the and she will have the hull number CVN - 78 . Features summary . Carriers of the " Ford " class will incorporate design features including : The navy believes that with the addition of the most modern equipment and extensive use of automation , it will be able to reduce the crew requirement and the total cost of future aircraft carriers . The primary recognition feature compared to earlier supercarriers will be the more aft location of the navigation " island . " The relocation of the " island " will enable the carrier to sustain 140 – 160 sorties per day with a surge capability of 220 sorties . Design and development . The " Nimitz " - class aircraft carrier has been an integral part of United States power projection strategy since " Nimitz " was first commissioned . Displacing approximately 100 , 000 tons when fully loaded , a " Nimitz " - class carrier is capable of steaming faster than thirty knots , self - sustaining for up to ninety days , and launching aircraft to strike targets hundreds of miles away . The endurance of this class is exemplified by USS " Theodore Roosevelt " , which spent 159 days underway in support of Operation Enduring Freedom without the need to visit a port or be refueled . Over the lifespan of the class many new technologies have been successfully integrated into the design of this vessel . However , with the technical advances made in the past decade the ability of the Navy to make improvements to this class of ship has become more limited . " The biggest problems facing the " Nimitz " class are the limited electrical power generation capability and the upgrade - driven increase in ship weight and erosion of the center - of - gravity margin needed to maintain ship stability . " With these constraints in mind the navy developed what was initially known as the " CVN - 21 " program , which ultimately evolved into CVN - 78 , " Gerald R . Ford " . Improvements were made through developing technologies and more efficient design . Major design changes include a larger flight deck , improvements in weapons and material handling , a new propulsion plant design that requires fewer personnel to operate and maintain , and a new smaller island that has been pushed aft . Technological advances in the field of electromagnetics have led to the development of an Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System ( EMALS ) , and an Advanced Arresting Gear ( AAG ) . An integrated warfare system , the Ship Self - Defense System ( SSDS ) , has been developed to support flexibility in adapting the infrastructure of the ship to future mission roles . The new Dual Band Radar ( DBR ) combines S - band and X - band radar in a single system . With new design and technology the Ford will have a 25 % increase in sortie generation , threefold increase in electrical generating capacity , increased operational availability , and a number of quality - of - life improvements . Requirements for a higher sortie rate of around 160 exits a day with surges to a maximum of 220 sorties a day in times of crisis and intense air warfare activity , have led to design changes in the flight deck , which enable greater aircraft launch capabilities . Flight deck . Changes to the flight deck are the most visible of the differences between the " Nimitz " and " Gerald R . Ford " classes . Several sections have been altered from the layout of the " Nimitz " class flight deck to improve aircraft handling , storage , and flow . Catapult number four on the " Nimitz " class cannot launch fully loaded aircraft because of a deficiency of wing clearance along the edge of the flight deck . CVN - 78 will have no catapult - specific restrictions on launching aircraft , but still retains four catapults , two bow and two waist , and the number of aircraft lifts from hangar deck to flight deck level was reduced from the earlier ships from four to three . The design changes to the flight deck are instrumental in the maximization of sortie s launched . The route of weapons to the aircraft stops on the flight deck has been replanned to accommodate higher rearming rates , and in turn higher potential sortie rates . Another major change : a smaller , redesigned island will be pushed further back relative to the older classes of carriers . Moving the island creates deck space for a centralized rearming and refueling location . This reduces the number of times that an aircraft will have to be moved after landing before it can be launched again . Fewer aircraft movements require , in turn , fewer deck hands to accomplish them , reducing the size of the ship ' s crew . A similar benefit is realized by altering the path and procedures for weapons movement by redshirts from storage to flight deck , again potentially allowing the new ship to support a higher sortie rate than the " Nimitz " - class ship while using fewer crew members than the " Nimitz " requires . On " Nimitz " - class carriers the time that it takes to launch a plane after it has landed is set by the time need to rearm and refuel it . To minimize this time , ordnance will be moved from storage areas to the centralized rearming location via relocated , higher capacity weapons elevators , utilizing linear motors . The new path that ordnance follows does not cross any areas of aircraft movement , thereby reducing traffic problems in the hangars and on the flight deck . According to Rear Admiral Dennis M . Dwyer , these changes will make it hypothetically possible to rearm the airplanes in " minutes instead of hours " . Power generation . The propulsion and power plant of the " Nimitz " - class carriers was designed in the 1960s . Technological capabilities of that time did not require the same quantity of electrical power that modern technologies do . " New technologies added to the " Nimitz " - class ships have generated increased demands for electricity ; the current base load leaves little margin to meet expanding demands for power . " Increasing the capability of the U . S . Navy to improve the technological level of the carrier fleet required a larger capacity power system . The new A1B reactor plant is a smaller , more efficient design that provides approximately three times the electrical power of the " Nimitz " - class A4W reactor plant . The modernization of the plant led to a higher - core energy density , lower demands for pumping power , a simpler construction , and the use of modern electronic controls and displays . These changes resulted in a two - thirds reduction of watch standing requirements and a significant decrease of required maintenance . A larger power output is a major component to the integrated warfare system . Engineers took extra steps to ensure that integrating unforeseen technological advances onto a " Gerald R . Ford " - class aircraft carrier would be possible . The U . S . Navy projects that the " Gerald R . Ford " class will be an integral component of the fleet for ninety years into the future ( the year 2105 ) . One lesson learned from that is that for a ship design to be successful over the course of a century , a great deal of foresight and flexibility is required . Integrating new technologies with the " Nimitz " class is becoming more difficult to do without any negative consequences . To bring the " Gerald R . Ford " class into dominance during the next century of naval warfare requires that the class be capable of seamlessly upgrading to more advanced systems . Launch and landing systems . The " Nimitz " - class aircraft carriers use steam - powered catapults to launch aircraft . Steam catapults were developed in the 1950s and have been exceptionally reliable . For over fifty years at least one of the four catapults has been able to launch an aircraft 99 . 5 % of the time . However , there are a number of drawbacks . " The foremost deficiency is that the catapult operates without feedback control . With no feedback , there often occurs large transients in tow force that can damage or reduce the life of the airframe . " The steam system is massive , inefficient ( 4 – 6 % ) , and hard to control . Control problems with the system results in minimum and maximum weight limits . The minimum weight limit is above the weight of all UAV s . An inability to launch the latest additions to the Naval Air Forces is a restriction on operations that cannot continue into the next generation of aircraft carriers . The Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System ( EMALS ) provides solutions to all these problems . An electromagnetic system is more efficient , smaller , lighter , more powerful , and easier to control . Increased control means that EMALS will be able to launch both heavier and lighter aircraft than the steam catapult . Also , the use of a controlled force will reduce the stress on airframes , resulting in less maintenance and a longer lifetime for the airframe . Unfortunately the power limitations for the " Nimitz " class make the installation of the recently developed EMALS impossible . Electromagnetics will also be used in the new Advanced Arresting Gear ( AAG ) system . The current system relies on hydraulics to slow and stop a landing aircraft . While effective , as demonstrated by more than fifty years of implementation , the AAG system offers a number of improvements . The current system is unable to capture UAVs without damaging them due to extreme stresses on the airframe . UAVs do not have the necessary mass to drive the large hydraulic piston used to trap heavier manned planes . By using electromagnetics the energy absorption is controlled by a turbo - electric engine . This makes the trap smoother and reduces shock on airframes . Even though the system will look the same from the flight deck as its predecessor , it will be more flexible , safer , and more reliable , and will require less maintenance and manning . Sensors . Another addition to the " Gerald R . Ford " - class is an integrated search and tracking radar system . The dual - band radar was being developed for both the " Zumwalt " - class guided missile destroyers and the " Ford " - class aircraft carriers . The island can be kept smaller by replacing six to ten radar antennas with a single six - faced radar . The DBR works by combining the X - Band AN / SPY - 3 multifunction radar with the S - band volume search radar . The S - band radar was later deleted from the Zumwalt class destroyers as a cost saving measure . The three faces dedicated to the X - band radar are responsible for low altitude tracking and target illumination , while the other three faces dedicated to the S - band are responsible for target search and tracking regardless of weather . " Operating simultaneously over two electromagnetic frequency ranges , the DBR marks the first time this functionality has been achieved using two frequencies coordinated by a single resource manager . " This new system has no moving parts , therefore minimizing maintenance and manning requirements for operation . Possible upgrades . Each new technology and design feature integrated into the " Ford " - class aircraft carrier improves sortie generation , manning requirements , and operational capabilities . New defense systems , such as free electron laser directed - energy weapon s , dynamic armor , and tracking systems will require more power . " Only half of the electrical power - generation capability on CVN 78 is needed to run currently planned systems , including EMALS . CVN 78 will thus have the power reserves that the " Nimitz " class lacks to run lasers and dynamic armor . " The addition of new technologies , power systems , design layout , and better control systems results in an increased sortie rate of 25 % over the " Nimitz " class and a 25 % reduction in manpower required to operate . Breakthrough waste management technology will be deployed on the new Gerald R . Ford . Co - developed with the Carderock Division of the Naval Surface Warfare Center , PyroGenesis Canada Inc . , was in 2008 awarded the contract to outfit the ship with a Plasma Arc Waste Destruction System ( PAWDS ) . This compact system will treat all combustible solid waste generated on board the ship . After having completed factory acceptance testing in Montreal , the system was scheduled to be shipped to the Huntington Ingalls shipyard in late 2011 for installation on the carrier . Construction . Construction began on components of CVN - 78 in the spring of 2007 , and is planned to finish in 2015 . It is under construction at Newport News Shipbuilding , a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries ( formerly Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding ) in Newport News , Virginia , the only shipyard in the United States capable of building nuclear - powered aircraft carriers . In 2005 , it was estimated to cost at least $ 8 billion excluding the $ 5 billion spent on research and development ( though that was not expected to be representative of the cost of future members of the class ) . A 2009 report said that the " Ford " would cost $ 14 billion including research and development , and the actual cost of the carrier itself would be $ 9 billion . The daily operating cost is estimated at $ 7 million . A total of three carriers have been authorized for construction , but if the " Nimitz " - class carriers and were to be replaced on a one - for - one basis , eleven carriers would be required over the life of the program . However , the last " Nimitz " - class aircraft carrier is not scheduled to be decommissioned until 2058 . In a speech on 6 April 2009 , then Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced that the program would shift to a five - year building program so as to place it on a " more fiscally sustainable path " . Such a measure would result in ten carriers by 2040 . In 2013 a GAO report cast doubts on the delivery schedule . Naming . There was a movement by the Carrier Veterans ' Association to have CVN - 78 named after the " America " rather than after President Ford . Eventually , the amphibious assault ship LHA - 6 was named " America " . On 27 May 2011 , the Department of Defense announced the name of CVN - 79 would be USS " John F . Kennedy " . On 1 December 2012 , Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced that CVN - 80 would be named USS " Enterprise " . The information was delivered during a prerecorded speech as part of the deactivation ceremony for the previous USS " Enterprise " ( CVN - 65 ) . The future " Enterprise " ( CVN - 80 ) will be the ninth U . S . Navy ship to bear this name . Ships in class . There are expected to be ten ships of this class . To date , three have been announced :