The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), the lead ship in a new class of carriers that will be armed with railguns and high-energy combat lasers, will be among the nine warships that will join the U.S. Navy this year.

Also joining the fleet will be two submarines: the USS Washington (SSN-787), a Virginia-class submarine, and the USS Colorado (SSN-788), another Virginia-class sub. The addition of both SSNs will give the Navy 15 Virginia-class submarines, which are designed for a broad spectrum of open-ocean and littoral (shallow coastal water) missions.

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The Colorado and Washington are Block III versions that feature a revised bow with a Large Aperture Bow (LAB) sonar array.

Four littoral combat ships (LCS) will join the fleet: USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS-10) an Independence-class LCS; USS Little Rock (LCS-9), a Freedom-class LCS; USS Omaha (LCS-12), another Independence-class LCS and USS Sioux City (LCS-11), a Freedom-class LCS.

Two Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers will become operational: the USS John Finn (DDG-113) and the USS Rafael Peralta (DDG-115).

The Gerald R. Ford-class is the future aircraft carrier replacement class for Enterprise and Nimitz-class aircraft carriers. The Gerald R. Ford will replace the inactive USS Enterprise (CVN-65), which ended her 51 years of active service in December 2012.

The class will be the premier forward asset for crisis response and early decisive striking power in a major combat operation. Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers and Carrier Strike Groups will provide the core capabilities of forward presence, deterrence, sea control, power projection, maritime security and humanitarian assistance.

The next two carriers of the Ford Class will be the USS John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) and the USS Enterprise (CVN 80).

The Ford-class is designed to maximize the striking power of its carrier air wing. The ship's systems and configuration are optimized to maximize the sortie generation rate (SGR) of attached strike aircraft, resulting in a 33 percent increase in SGR over the Nimitz- class.

Its configuration and electrical generating plant can accommodate new systems. These systems include directed energy weapons such as high energy lasers for shooting down missiles and aircraft, and railguns for destroying enemy surface warships as far away as 185 kilometers.

The Ford-class have a hull similar to the Nimitz carriers, but introduce new technologies such as the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS); the advanced arresting gear (AAG) plus other design features that improve efficiency and cut operating costs.

The USS Gerald R. Ford-class is designed to operate effectively with almost 700 fewer crew members than an Enterprise-class carrier. Improvements in the ship design will also allow the Ford's carrier's air wing to operate with fewer personnel.

The USS Gerald R. Ford is the first aircraft carrier designed with all electric utilities. Steam service lines have been eliminated, reducing maintenance requirements and improving corrosion control. 

TagsU.S. Navy, USS Gerald R. Ford, USS Washington, USS Colorado, high energy lasers, railguns