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| CVN 21 class The United States Navy CVN-21 program ("21st Century Aircraft Carrier") is the next generation supercarrier for the United States Navy. Before its redesignation as the CVN-21 carrier program this project was known by the initials CVNX carrier program. It should not be confused with CV 21, the hull designation for the post-World War II carrier USS Boxer, which was in service from 1945-1969.
Carriers of the CVN-21 class will incorporate many new design features including a new nuclear reactor design (the A1B reactor), stealthier features to help reduce radar profile, electromagnetic catapults, advanced arresting gear, and reduced crewing requirements. The U.S. Navy believes that with the addition of the most modern equipment and extensive use of automation they will be able to reduce the total cost of future aircraft carriers. If the Navy can reduce the cost of constructing and maintaining an aircraft carrier, they will overcome the biggest complaint received in the U.S. Congress that of funding.
The first hull of the CVN-21 (formerly CVNX) line will be CVN-78. The CVN-21 uses the basic hull design of the preceding Nimitz-class, though that is where the similarities will end.
As of October 2005, one CVN-21 is planned to start construction in 2007 and finish in 2015. It is estimated to cost at least $13 billion, but this includes the $5 billion spent on R&D and is not representative of the cost of future members of the class. (Source: Wikipedia) |
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| Nimitz class The Nimitz-class supercarriers are a line of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers in service with the US Navy, and are the largest capital ships in the world. These ships are numbered with consecutive hull numbers starting with CVN 68. The letters "CVN" denote the type of ship: CV (Carrier Vessel) is the hull classification symbol for Aircraft Carriers, and N to indicate nuclear-powered propulsion. The number after the "CVN" means that this is the 68th "CV", or aircraft carrier.
Nimitz (CVN-68), the lead ship of the class, was commissioned in 1975. As of 2006, George H. W. Bush (CVN-77), the tenth and last of the class, was built by Northrop Grumman Newport News and will enter service in 2008. Bush will be the first transition ship to a new class of carriers (CVN-21) to start construction in 2007 and will incorporate new technologies including a new multi-function radar system, volume search radar and open architecture information network, and a significantly reduced crew requirement. To lower costs some new technologies were incorporated into Ronald Reagan, though not nearly as many as will be involved with Bush.
Because of construction differences between the first three ships (Nimitz, Eisenhower and Vinson) and the latter seven (from Theodore Roosevelt on), the latter ships are sometimes called Theodore Roosevelt-class aircraft carriers, though the U.S. Navy officially holds no difference between the two groups (in fact, the time lag between carriers means that no two are the same). As the older ships come in for Refueling and Complex Overhaul (RCOH), they are upgraded to the standards of the latest ships, virtually eliminating differences.
By tonnage, Nimitz class are by far the largest class of carriers ever built, holding the world record for displacement of any naval war vessel. When Bush is completed, the ten ships of the class will total just under a million tons combined displacement. Although the Nimitz class ships are the heaviest ships in the US fleet they are not the longest ships in the fleet, as that honor belongs to the carrier Enterprise.
Nimitz was the first to undergo its initial refueling during a 33-month RCOH at Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Virginia, in 1998. Dwight D. Eisenhower was next, completing RCOH in 2005. Carl Vinson began RCOH in late 2005. (Source: Wikipedia) |
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CVN 65 Enterprise
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The USS Enterprise (CVN-65) was the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and the eighth U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name. As of 2006, the ship is homeported at Norfolk, Virginia, and scheduled for retirement in 2013. Her intended replacement is the as-yet-to-be-named CVN-21 class supercarrier CVN-78.
Enterprise was originally designated as CVA(N)-65 - the 'N' standing for nuclear, but later was changed to its current designation.
Like her predecessor of World War II fame, she is nicknamed the "Big E" and her name is well known throughout the world. At 1,123 feet (342 m), she remains the world's longest aircraft carrier, though her 89,600 tons are surpassed by the Nimitz class. She is also the only aircraft carrier to house more than two nuclear reactors. Enterprise's eight-reactor propulsion design was rather conservative, with each A2W reactor taking the place of one boiler.
Enterprise was intended to be the first of a class of six, but construction costs ballooned and the remaining vessels were never laid down resulting in her being the only ship of her class. CV-66 was ordered as a conventional Kitty Hawk-class aircraft carrier. CVN-67, with a new reactor design, was reordered during construction as the conventionally-powered John F. Kennedy. Series production of nuclear carriers finally commenced with USS Nimitz (CVN-68), the first of 10 Nimitz supercarriers. Because of her expense, Enterprise was launched without weapon systems (she was originally intended to receive two twin Terrier missile launchers); she was later refit with three Vulcan mounts and two NATO Sea Sparrow Missile (NSSM) launchers. In the 2000s her armament was refit again, giving up one Vulcan mount and gaining two RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile launchers.
57 files, last one added on Jul 11, 2005 Album viewed 6 times
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| Last additions - American vessels |

A conceptual rendering of CVN 78431 viewsDec 23, 2006
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473 viewsNov 20, 2005
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