Aboard U.S. Navy Ford-Class World’s Largest Aircraft Carrier and Its Powerful Air Combat Capability.

USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier and the U.S. Navy's newest ship, features electromagnetic catapults, advanced sensors, and a redesigned flight deck to enhance combat power. The carrier sets the technological baseline for future naval aviation as the Navy prepares for high-end conflict in contested maritime environments.

Aboard the massive flight deck of USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), the world’s largest aircraft carrier, the U.S. Navy is fielding a fundamentally different kind of capital ship shaped by lessons from decades of carrier operations and emerging threats from peer competitors. As the lead ship of the Ford-class, the carrier integrates electromagnetic launch systems, reduced crew requirements, and digital command networks designed to increase sortie generation while lowering long-term operating costs, according to U.S. Navy officials and program documentation.
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USS Gerald R. Ford, the lead ship of the Ford-class, represents the U.S. Navy’s most advanced aircraft carrier design, combining next-generation airpower, electromagnetic launch systems, and reduced crew requirements to project unmatched combat capability across global theaters. (Picture source: U.S. Department of War)

With a full-load displacement exceeding 100,000 tonnes and a length of 337 meters (1,106 feet), the Ford-class aircraft carrier is physically massive. Yet its true strength lies not in size, but in what it launches. Every inch of the carrier’s architecture serves one purpose: to generate and sustain unmatched air power in high-threat environments. With capacity for over 75 aircraft, Gerald R. Ford delivers a flexible and lethal Carrier Air Wing (CVW) built around fifth-generation fighters, electronic warfare assets, rotary-wing platforms, and the Navy’s first operational unmanned aerial vehicles.

The heart of the air wing lies in its ability to blend legacy power with next-generation capability. The F-35C Lightning II, the U.S. Navy’s premier stealth strike fighter, brings deep-penetration precision strike and unparalleled situational awareness. Paired with the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, the workhorse multirole fighter of naval aviation, and the EA-18G Growler, which provides advanced electronic attack and radar jamming, the Ford’s air wing becomes a coordinated instrument of surgical, high-tempo power projection.

Eyes in the sky are provided by the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, with its digitally enhanced radar system and battle management suite, ensuring seamless command and control across the maritime battlespace. On the periphery of the carrier’s reach, MH-60R Seahawk helicopters patrol for submarines, while MH-60S Knighthawk variants handle logistics, personnel recovery, and defensive operations, all integrated in real-time with the ship’s combat information systems.

But the introduction of unmanned platforms signals a turning point. The MQ-25 Stingray, the Navy’s first carrier-launched refueling drone, represents a critical enabler for extended strike range. Capable of extending the F-35C’s reach by more than 800 kilometers (500 miles), the Stingray reduces the carrier’s dependence on land-based support and enhances the survivability of its manned aircraft. More importantly, it sets the stage for future unmanned strike, surveillance, and electronic warfare assets that will soon fly from Ford-class decks.

Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Equipment) 2nd Class Thomas Myers, from Smoaks, South Carolina, conducts a prelaunch inspection of the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) aboard the flight deck of USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), the world’s largest and most advanced aircraft carrier. (Picture source: U.S. Department of War)

To accommodate this revolution in air power, the U.S. Navy's Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier had to break with tradition. Steam catapults have been replaced by EMALS, the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System, which offers smoother, faster launches with lower stress on airframes. The Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) modernizes landing operations, enabling both heavy fighters and lightweight drones to recover safely under variable loads. These systems allow Ford to generate up to 25 percent more sorties per day than its Nimitz-class predecessors, with a surge capacity of up to 270 launches in high-intensity operations.

Beneath the flight deck, innovations continue. The ship’s 26,000 square meters (280,000 square feet) of operational space are supported by eleven Advanced Weapons Elevators, enabling fast, secure movement of bombs and missiles from magazines to the flight deck. Automation and intelligent design have slashed the time required to rearm aircraft by more than 75 percent, enabling faster turnarounds and greater lethality in prolonged combat.

Two A1B nuclear reactors, a brand-new design, provide roughly 700 megawatts of electrical power, nearly triple that of the older A4W reactors used on Nimitz-class carriers. This energy surplus ensures the ship can meet current and future demands, including the integration of directed-energy weapons, high-powered jammers, and electromagnetic warfare systems now in advanced development.

Radar and sensor systems have undergone a complete overhaul. The Dual Band Radar (DBR) replaces multiple legacy systems with an integrated, multifunctional radar suite capable of simultaneous air search, missile tracking, and fire control. The DBR offers enhanced detection of small, fast-moving targets, including drones and supersonic cruise missiles, while reducing the ship’s electronic signature, a critical advantage in modern electromagnetic warfare.

USS Gerald R. Ford operates with a core crew of approximately 2,600 sailors, significantly fewer than Nimitz-class carriers, thanks to advanced automation and integrated systems that streamline engineering, logistics, and maintenance operations. (Pictures source: U.S. Department of War)

The U.S. Navy Ford-class aircraft carrier was also designed with its crew in mind. The ship operates with a core crew of approximately 2,600 sailors, including around 500 officers and 2,100 enlisted personnel. This represents a significant reduction from the 3,200 sailors typically required on a Nimitz-class carrier. The reduced manpower is enabled by extensive automation and smarter systems integration, particularly in engineering, logistics, and maintenance.

In addition to the ship’s company, a fully deployed Ford also embarks more than 2,400 personnel from Carrier Air Wing 8, bringing the total complement during operations to roughly 4,900 crew members. These include pilots, air crew, intelligence analysts, aircraft maintainers, flight deck controllers, and mission planners, all working in high-pressure conditions to sustain around-the-clock combat air operations.

Crew life aboard Gerald R. Ford has been visibly improved compared to legacy carriers. Berthing compartments have been redesigned to accommodate no more than 86 sailors per room, down from more than 200 on older ships, providing better privacy and reducing fatigue. The ship features larger dining facilities, enhanced gyms and recreation spaces, dedicated classrooms, and more robust connectivity for morale and welfare. The Navy has also upgraded HVAC systems and noise-control measures throughout the ship to support better rest and health during long-term deployments.

Automation is also reshaping traditional roles. Many legacy manual tasks — such as valve operation, system diagnostics, and damage control coordination — are now controlled through integrated consoles and predictive maintenance software. Engineering spaces, for example, require fewer personnel thanks to smarter monitoring tools and digital diagnostics linked to the ship’s command centers. While reducing crew size lowers overall operating costs and logistical demands, it also underscores the importance of cross-training, specialized skill sets, and rapid crew adaptability.

Women serve throughout the ship in all billets, from aviation maintenance and reactor operations to bridge command and flight deck coordination. USS Gerald R. Ford is equipped with gender-integrated facilities and berthing areas, reflecting the Navy’s commitment to a diverse and fully capable force structure.

Graphic overview of USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) highlighting its advanced technologies, including EMALS, AAG, Dual Band Radar, and A1B nuclear reactors, alongside its powerful air wing composed of F-35C stealth fighters, F/A-18 Super Hornets, E-2D Hawkeyes, and MQ-25 Stingray drones, designed to project next-generation air dominance across global theaters. (Copyright Graphic News)

The journey to this point has not been without challenges. Originally conceived in the early 2000s to replace aging carriers with a 21st-century design, the Ford-class aircraft carrier faced years of delays and technical hurdles. Construction began in 2005 at Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding yard in Virginia, and the ship was commissioned in 2017. However, it would take several more years of rigorous testing and corrections before the Ford was declared ready for deployment in 2023. The complexity of EMALS, AAG, and the weapons elevators sparked widespread criticism in Congress and among defense analysts. Yet today, these same systems are proving essential to its operational edge.

The Ford-class program is now fully underway. A total of ten carriers are planned to replace the entire Nimitz fleet by the 2050s. Following Gerald R. Ford, CVN 79 John F. Kennedy is in final outfitting and is expected to be delivered in 2026. CVN 80 Enterprise, under construction since 2022, will join the fleet in the early 2030s. CVN 81, Doris Miller, named after the heroic World War II sailor, is in early fabrication and will enter service in the mid-2030s. Each successive vessel will incorporate lessons from Ford and be incrementally upgraded with the latest systems.

Operationally, Ford made its debut deployment with Carrier Strike Group 12 in late 2023. Operating across the North Atlantic and Mediterranean, it engaged in complex joint exercises with NATO allies, conducted deterrent patrols in strategic chokepoints, and demonstrated its capability to surge high-volume air operations under near-combat conditions. Its performance marked a turning point in how future carrier operations will be defined: faster, smarter, and more lethal.

Looking ahead, the Gerald R. Ford will serve as the technological anchor for the U.S. Navy’s future carrier strike doctrine. As threats multiply from hypersonic missiles to electronic attacks, the Ford-class will enable agile, resilient operations across wide maritime theaters. Whether projecting power into the Indo-Pacific, patrolling Arctic routes, or deterring regional conflicts in the Middle East, its air wing remains the decisive instrument of American maritime strategy.

The ship is not just a platform for launching aircraft. It is a floating ecosystem of power projection, battle management, and digital warfare, a vessel that redefines what an aircraft carrier can be in an age of unmanned combat, near-peer competition, and contested global commons.

Written by Alain Servaes – Chief Editor, Army Recognition Group
Alain Servaes is a former infantry non-commissioned officer and the founder of Army Recognition. With over 20 years in defense journalism, he provides expert analysis on military equipment, NATO operations, and the global defense industry.