How about the US$ 13 billion ＂Gao Shuai Fu＂ aircraft carrier starting sea trials？
CCTV News:According to the website of the US Navy Times, on April 8, local time, the first "Ford" of the newly developed "Ford" class aircraft carrier of the US military made its first self-powered voyage in Newport Port, and immediately began sea trials. So what is the difference between the latest aircraft carrier developed by the US military?
"Ford": Known as the world’s most advanced aircraft carrier
"Ford", 332 meters long and 40 meters wide, has a displacement of over 100,000 tons. It uses nuclear propulsion and has a speed of 30 knots. The number of carrier-based aircraft has reached more than 75, with a staffing of 4,550, and the total cost is as high as 13 billion US dollars.
△ Figure/vision china
The overall dimensions of the "Ford" class aircraft carrier are not much different from those of the Nimitz class aircraft carrier (the active nuclear-powered multi-purpose aircraft carrier under the US Navy), but the performance has been significantly improved:
First, the degree of automation is further improved by using electromagnetic catapult instead of steam catapult and electromagnetic arresting device instead of hydraulic arresting device..
Second, the use of new nuclear reactors is more efficient..
Thirdly, it is possible to adopt a multi-functional phased array radar with single frequency band or a multi-functional radar with stronger anti-missile ability, so that the information level is higher..
The sea trial of "Ford" will be carried out for several days, mainly focusing on the related tests of hull mechanical engineering and power system. After that, the US Navy will conduct flight operations and conduct a comprehensive test of the aircraft carrier’s flight deck.
△ Figure/vision china
So, what is so outstanding about this so-called world’s most advanced aircraft carrier?Military expert Zhang Junshe believes that there are three main points.：
First of all, as the third-generation nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, Ford uses electromagnetic catapult, which has stronger ejection ability and more flexibility.You can eject a plane every 45 seconds25% faster than a Nimitz-class steam catapult. According to data research, Nimitz-class aircraft carrier can dispatch up to 160 carrier aircraft every day, and once electromagnetic catapult is used, the carrier aircraft dispatch of "Ford" aircraft carrier can reach 180.
Second, the power generation capacity is improved, which is three times higher than that of Nimitz-class aircraft carriers. The "Ford" aircraft carrier has two new and advanced nuclear reactors, each with a power generation capacity of 300 MW.In this way, we can meet the needs of using high-energy weapons such as rail gun and laser cannons in the future..
Thirdly, the setting on the deck is optimized. It will take time to finish the action of refueling and hanging bombs on carrier aircraft,From two hours to one hour..
Equipped with shipborne drones to subvert traditional operations
Another striking thing about the American "Ford" aircraft carrier is that it is equipped with an X-47B unmanned attack aircraft. It is the world’s first unmanned aerial vehicle that does not rely on manual remote control, but is independently controlled by artificial intelligence.
According to experts’ analysis, the X-47B unmanned attack aircraft has a long range and a large combat radius. Once it is put into operation, it can not only reduce casualties, but also carry out a deadly deep attack on the other side. Although the X-47B unmanned attack aircraft has many problems in the shipboard test, if it is used in conjunction with future manned fighters on the aircraft carrier, it will greatly improve the combat capability of the US Navy.
Military expert Zhang Jun society：
Former U.S. Defense Secretary Hagel once pointed out at the shangri-la dialogue Conference that once the X-47B unmanned attack aircraft successfully took off or landed on the aircraft carrier, it marked that the U.S. Navy entered a new aviation era, and it was also a milestone for the United States to gain military superiority.
Expert: The US military will rely more on aircraft carrier combat forces in the future.
In 2012, after the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Enterprise in the United States was retired, the US military has maintained a lineup of 10 Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. After Trump took office, he put forward the slogan of restoring the number of aircraft carriers to 12. What does the joining of "Ford" mean to the US military?
Zhang Junshe, a military expert, believes that the main purpose of increasing the number of ships from the current 10 to 12 is to maintain the absolute superiority of the US Navy, especially compared with other countries. At present, the aircraft carriers owned by some countries in the world are much worse than the Nimitz-class aircraft carriers in the United States in terms of tonnage, the number of carrier-based aircraft and combat strength. In this case,The United States continues to develop aircraft carriers, of course, indicating that it will rely more on aircraft carrier combat forces in the future..