UPCOMING USA NAVY AIRCRAFT CARRIER

America's "coming" list of all aircraft carrier

1.CVN 79 USS John F. Kennedy - 2023

John F. Kennedy (CVN-79) is the second Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier being built for the United States Navy. The ship is under construction and planned to be commissioned in 2020.

On 15 January 2009, Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding was awarded a $374 million contract for design work and construction preparation for John F. Kennedy.^[5] On 30 September 2010, Northrop Grumman announced a new vice president for the construction of John F. Kennedy, Mike Shawcross, and that preparations were under way to begin construction.^[6]

On 25 February 2011, the navy conducted the First Cut of Steel ceremony at Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding in Newport News, signalling the formal start of construction for John F. Kennedy.^[7]^[8]

John F. Kennedy was originally planned to be completed in 2018. This was extended to 2020 after Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced in 2009 that the program would shift to a five-year building program so as to place it on a "more fiscally sustainable path". By late 2012, delays had occurred in construction, and the Navy Department was investigating extending the construction time of both the USS Enterprise (CVN-80) and John F. Kennedy by an additional two years which could delay the carrier's entry into service until 2022.^[9]

In September 2013, the Government Accountability Office recommended delaying the detail design and construction contract for John F. Kennedy until programmatic shortfalls are sorted out. The Navy and Defense Department have rejected the recommendation. The Navy faces technical, design, and construction challenges to completing USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), including producing systems prior to demonstrating their maturity to meet required installation dates. Gerald R. Ford had costs increase by 22 percent to $12.8 billion, and additional increases could follow due to uncertainties facing critical technology systems and shipbuilder underperformance. Risk is introduced in the navy's plan to conduct integration testing of key systems at the same time as initial operational test and evaluation. One action the GAO says could be taken to ensure Ford-class carrier acquisitions are supported is conducting a cost-benefit analysis of required capabilities and associated costs.^[10]

The ship's keel was laid in Newport News, Virginia on 22 August 2015.^[11] As part of the traditional keel laying ceremony, the initials of ship sponsor Caroline Kennedy, daughter of President Kennedy, were welded into the ship's hull.

CVN 80 USS Enterpris- 2027

USS Enterprise (CVN-80) will be the third Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier to be built for the United States Navy.^[2]^[3] She will be the ninth United States naval vessel to bear the name, and is scheduled to be constructed and in operation by 2027.

CVN-80 will be built by Huntington Ingalls Industries-Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Virginia. Enterprise is scheduled to begin active construction around 2018 and be delivered by 2025. However, in an effort to save costs, the Congressional Research Service indicates that the Navy Department is reviewing the possibility of extending the length of time used to build both John F. Kennedy (CVN-79) and Enterprise by two years. If approved, the ship would not enter service until 2027 and prevent any instance of 12 carriers being in service at any one time.^[6] The steel from CVN-65 will be recycled and used to construct CVN-80.^[7] The ship is currently scheduled to replace USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69). The first cut of steel ceremony, marking the beginning of fabrication of the ship's components, was held on 21 August 2017,^[8] with ship's sponsors Katie Ledecky and Simone Biles present.^[9]

CVN 81-2027

CVN 82 - 2031

U.S. CVN-82 Ranger class Nuclear Multi-Role Aircraft Carrier:

New Navy Intelligence Report 2320.25
Top Secret

Before the Coalition was able to recover three carriers from the remnants of the pre-Rifts Norfolk Naval Base, the conclusion had been that all United States surface carriers had been destroyed when the Rifts were triggered. When the Rifts appeared, the United states had a total of sixteen carriers including five carriers of the Ranger class. While our personnel has done some searching for the Saratoga class stealth carriers because it was thought that the ship would have a greater chance of survival, it had been thought that none of the other carriers had a reasonable chance of survival. One of the most promising locations are the bunkers built on the West Coast of the United States to house carriers. These bunkers are similar to those that had been built in Norfolk and were located in both Alameda California and Bremerton Washington. These bunkers were built just before the coming of the Rifts and are constructed of advanced materials and like the bunkers in Norfolk, they are likely to have survived. The report recommends the search is widened to these locations and have the Ranger class carrier class be added to our list of carriers we are searching for. Like the Saratoga class carriers, these vessels would make a good basis to form a surface fleet around and could be used as flagship.

The Ranger class carriers were initially designed as replacements for the Nimitz class carriers but due to a series of delays, were not completed until ten years after was initially planned. The reasons for the delay were alterations during the design phase including replacing the standard nuclear reactors with fusion reactors. CVN-82, USS Ranger, was completed in 2051 and was the first vessel of the class completed. The next four carriers of the class were completed approximately three years apart. USS Constellation (CVN-83) was completed in 2054, USS Kitty Hawk (CVN-84) was completed in 2057, USS Lexington (CVN-85) was completed in 2061, and USS Intrepid (CVN-86) was the final carrier of the class and was commissioned in 2065. The class was stopped at five carriers because little need was seen for more carriers by the Government due to most of the Nations being at peace. Eventually, this changed when tensions increased but new carrier designs were developed instead of constructing more Ranger class carriers. Still, the Ranger class carriers were an important element in the fleet and even though the lead carrier was close to fifty years old, there were no plans for decommissioning these carriers.

The Ranger class was well constructed and sturdy vessels that have several advantages over previous classes. The Ranger class carrier took advantage of advanced alloys and composites from the beginning and would be less effected by corrosion than previous carrier class. This should greatly reduce any refit that the carriers require. While the carrier includes some radar cross signature reduction, it is far less than was incorporated into the Saratoga class carrier. The design included more automation than previous carriers as well and require far fewer crew members. The ship required about sixty percent less crew than the old Nimitz class carrier. The vessels used four powerful fusion reactors which gave the vessel a top speed of 36 knots. While the Ranger had a similar sized air wing to older carriers, the ship had powerful electromagnetic catapults that were more efficient than the steam catapults on the Nimitz class carrier. The ship was fitted with catapults and arresting gear even though most aircraft designs under development were VTOL designs. Initially, ungraded versions of the Joint Strike Fighter were carried but were replaced by more advanced designs. By the coming of the Rifts, the main fighter compliment was composed of the advanced Sea Hawk fighter. The ship used a phased array radar system capable of tracking for both defense and air control. The carrier design carried a hull sonar system so that the carrier was not completely dependent on its escorts in that regard. All weaponry on the vessels were defensive and mostly designed to strop incoming missile strikes. A new vertical launch missile launcher system with a multiple reload system was designed to launch missiles for medium range defense of the carrier. The first two ships of the class initially carried four Phalanx point defense Gatling cannons and two short range RAM missile launchers for inner point defense. These mounts were replaced by four combination rail gun and short range missile launchers in later ships and upgraded in the first two ships of the class during refits. Long range defense was normally performed by escort vessels but the carrier was well protected against missile strikes in general.

The status of the carriers recovered by the Coalition is interesting. The Coalition recovered two Ranger class carriers, CVN-82 Ranger which they renamed CSS Quebec and CVN-85 Lexington which they renamed CSS Lone Star. In some cases, the Coalition has reverted weapon systems that are derived from older systems. A careful check of records has revealed the reasoning behind this. The two Ranger class carriers, USS Ranger and USS Lexington, were being refitted at the time the Rifts appeared and the point defense rail gun / short range mounts had been removed to be upgraded at a nearby maintenance facility that was likely destroyed. Some reports indicate that the Coalition has mounted long range missile launchers with huge payloads for defense weaponry but this is false. Intelligence indicates that the standard medium range vertical missile launchers have been retained. The sonar systems seemed to have been replaced by older systems as well. A likely reason for this is that like the point defense guns, the sonar systems had been sent to a maintenance facility for updating. Like the point defense weaponry and sonar system, it appears that the Coalition has not recovered any Sea Hawk class fighters. Instead, the Coalition uses a combination of old Pre-Rifts fighter designs and new designs that the Coalition developed. The use of sky cycles is interesting because while a large number can be carried, the aircraft are slow and have a fraction of the capabilities of a real fighter. There have also been reports of the vessels carrying 4 Death Bringer class armored personnel carriers. These craft are massive and weigh more than 1200 tons fully loaded and the flight deck could not support them. It is believed that Naval Air Station Oceania was completely destroyed. The size of the crew has been increased in Ranger class carriers in service in the Coalition. This is believed to be because the crew is less well trained than United States Navy crews were in shipboard operations. The Coalition also has placed a huge number of marines on the vessel. The Coalition carriers carry a vast number of different power armor and fighter designs. This is believed to impede the general operations of the carrier due to a lack of similar capabilities in embarked vehicles. As well, the added personnel have causes the vessel to be far more cramped than the vessels had been in United States Navy service.

A secondary note is on CVN 73, George Washington which they renamed CSS Joseph Prosek. The vessel was commissioned in 1992 and had been used as a training carrier while most of the Nimitz class carriers had been scrapped. The carrier had been decommissioned in 2072 and put into mothball status. The carrier had been scheduled for scrapping but plans for scrapping had been delayed after the Guada Marta incident and refitting the vessel was considered. After the commissioning of the Ticonderoga, the ship was again scheduled to be scrapped but the carrier was still in United States Navy custody. All weapon systems, radar systems, and aircraft gear such as catapults were either removed on deactivated. The ship also lacks many of the new systems carried on the Ranger class carriers.

[Authors Note: This is an expansion of the vessels presented in Coalition Navy, correcting some errors and expanding on the vessels in other ways]

Model Type: CVN-82 Ranger class Multi Purpose Aircraft Carrier
Vehicle Type: Ocean, Multi Purpose Aircraft Carrier
Crew:
United States Navy: Ships Crew: 1420 (125 officers, 135 chief petty officers, 1160 enlisted [Has a high degree of automation]) Air Wing: 1060 (250 Pilots, 50 flight deck officers, 760 enlisted)
Coalition Navy: Ships Crew: 1650 (140 officers, 160 chief petty officers, 1350 enlisted [Has a high degree of automation]) Air Wing: 1170 (220 Pilots, 80 flight deck officers, 870 enlisted)
Troops:
United States Navy: 520 (160 pilots for Semper Fi Power Armors, 160 pilots for SAMAS power Armor, 200 soldiers in body armor)
Coalition Navy: 1500 (Includes 600 flying power armor pilots, 40 underwater power armor pilots, 6 Sea Spider Pilots, 20 Hellraiser pilots, one company of 160 Sea Dogs, squad of 10 Nautical Commando troops, and 36 Naval Infantry RTL Com. Collected