Ever since the battle of Midway In 1942 the US Navy is the most powerful Navy in the world. It has displaced the Royal Navy which had dominated the ocean for close to 2 centuries. The US Naval power is built on a string of aircraft carriers. No country has such a formidable carrier force. The latest addition to the fleet is the USS Gerald Ford. This warship is considered to be a futuristic Aircraft Carrier. The new warship belongs to the Nimitz Class of carriers and displaces over 100,000 tons. Its nuclear power engine is 3 times more powerful than normal nuclear engines.
The ship is undergoing sea trials and will soon be inducted into the US Navy. After it is inducted the carrier's other weapon systems will be installed and tested. This career is supposed to be unsinkable.
Sea trials
The ship is undergoing sea trials and will soon be inducted into the U.S. Navy. After it is inducted the carrier's other weapon systems will be installed and tested. This carrier is supposed to be unsinkable.
The sea trials of the carrier have revealed problems with the new electromagnetic computerized catapult for launching fighter planes from its deck. There are many snags which need to be ironed out. That is the reason Donald Trump has asked the Navy to use the old steam catapult to launch the fighter planes.
Potent symbol
The carrier is a potent symbol of American Naval power. The Russians and the Chinese navy have nothing like it. They are also not likely to have one for the next 10 years. One of the reasons is that the Russians do not have any shipyard to build such a gigantic warship. There earlier biggest shipyard Odessa is now in Ukraine.
Air warfare theory
The U.S. Navy has as a part of naval strategy centered their doctrine on Aircraft carriers. Some experts feel that the aircraft carrier is not the best of weapons to project power. It is okay in a small limited war and theater. However, the aircraft carrier would be extremely vulnerable in case of a missile attack.
The latest carriers have a missile shield, yet it requires only one missile to break through and the aircraft carrier in one stroke could sink. Such a scenario fits in with the air warfare theory of Giulio Douhet.
Symbol of power
Nevertheless, the aircraft carrier is an important symbol of power. More important with limited wars raging at many points on the globe, the aircraft carrier remains the best bet for the projection of power of any nation. America is the only nation in the world that can project its power thousands of miles away. The U.S. Navy is a true Blue Water Navy, that can operate from the Pacific to the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean. This situation is not likely to change for the next two or three decades. The USS Ford is a part of this global dominance.
